“If this were not a short visit, I would have surely taken the treatment for my back pain here at AIIA,” remarked Geraldo Alckmin, Vice-President of Brazil and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, during his visit to the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in Delhi recently.
The light-hearted yet sincere comment was seen as a strong endorsement of the institute’s clinical and therapeutic excellence, highlighting AIIA’s growing stature as a centre for integrative and evidence-based Ayurveda.
The Brazil Vice-President was accompanied by a high-level delegation including his spouse, Maria Lucia Alckmin, and senior officials from the Brazilian government and regulatory bodies.
Alckmin praised India's leadership in traditional and integrative health systems and described Ayurveda as “a 5,000-year-old treasure of health and wisdom.” Commending the institute's efforts in healthcare delivery, education, and research, he said, “The world needs Ayurveda’s timeless wisdom for preventive and sustainable healthcare.”
He also acknowledged the growing global relevance of Ayurveda, particularly in the context of ageing populations and the rising demand for natural and preventive healthcare. “Life expectancy is rising, and so is the demand for traditional systems like Ayurveda,” he said.
AIIA, under the Ministry of Ayush, currently has three active Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Brazilian institutions including with the Sri Vajera Foundation and Associated Institutions, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian Academic Consortium for Integrative Health (CABSIN) and with the Future Vision Institute and the Federal University of São Paulo, said an AIIA official.
These collaborations aim to enhance regulatory frameworks, clinical practices, and research in traditional medicine, with a shared focus on quality, safety, and the protection of traditional knowledge systems, he said.
The delegation was received by Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, and Prof. (Vaidya) Pradeep Kumar Prajapati, Director of AIIA, along with senior faculty members.
