TEHRAN: Iran and Indonesia have agreed to establish the second Iran-Indonesia robotic tele-surgery centre at a hospital in Makassar, a city in eastern Indonesia.

The announcement was made during a virtual meeting between Iran’s Deputy-President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy Rouhollah Dehghani Firouzabadi and Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, reported Iranian news agency IRNA.

The project will be supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Sina Robotics and Medical Innovators Company, as well as the Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, Hasanuddin University, and Indofarma Company, the Iranian official noted.

The first robotic surgery between the two Indonesian cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta was successfully completed at a distance of 500 kilometres, and both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress made.

The Indonesian health minister has proposed extending the process from west to east across the Indonesian archipelago, from the city of Medan to Makassar, at a distance of 3,500 kilometres.–Bernama-IRNA