An International Ayush Conclave focused on promoting wellness and traditional medicine has successfully concluded in Kathmandu, bringing together approximately 200 representatives from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and the United Arab Emirates to chart a bold and collaborative course for the future of Ayurveda, yoga, and holistic healthcare in the region. Organised by the Council for Integrative Vaidya Innovation and Collaboration in co-organisation with the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, the conclave served as a powerful platform for healthcare professionals, policymakers, business leaders, and wellness advocates to share knowledge, forge partnerships, and call for stronger institutional and policy support for traditional medicine systems.
A Call for Policy Facilitation and Institutional Support
One of the most consistent and emphatic messages to emerge from the conclave was a collective demand from participants for meaningful policy facilitation to support the growth and promotion of wellness and Ayurvedic medicine in Nepal. Participants stressed that despite Nepal’s extraordinary natural endowments, from its rich biodiversity of medicinal herbs to its deep traditions of yoga, meditation, and indigenous healing practices, the country has yet to fully harness these assets through a coherent and supportive policy framework that enables the wellness and traditional medicine sector to reach its full potential.
The call for policy reform reflects a growing recognition among stakeholders that institutional barriers, regulatory gaps, and insufficient government investment have historically constrained the development of Nepal’s traditional medicine and wellness sectors, and that addressing these obstacles is an urgent prerequisite for realising the enormous economic and social value that these sectors could generate for the country.
Nepal Chamber President: Declare Nepal a Wellness Tourism Destination
Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Kamlesh Kumar Agarwal delivered one of the conclave’s most visionary and impactful addresses, calling with clarity and conviction for Nepal to be established as an international destination for wellness, health, and medical tourism. He highlighted the Nepali government’s commendable decision to observe the next ten years as the “Arogya Decade”, a health and wellness decade, as a significant and praiseworthy step in the right direction.
“The Government of Nepal has decided to celebrate the next ten years as the Arogya Decade. This is a commendable initiative,” President Agarwal said. “Nepal’s unique heritage, including medicinal herbs found here, yoga, meditation, and traditional treatment systems, is expected to open the doors to enormous potential in health and wellness tourism.”
Agarwal further underlined the transformative possibilities that lie at the intersection of traditional medicine and modern technology, noting that artificial intelligence, digital health platforms, telemedicine, biotechnology, and data analytics are creating exciting new opportunities for innovation and operational efficiency in the healthcare sector. He emphasised that the collaboration between traditional medicine systems and modern science will form the very foundation of future healthcare delivery, a hybrid model that Nepal, with its rich traditional healing heritage and growing technological capacity, is uniquely positioned to develop and lead.
Conclave Chair: Ayush Conclave Strengthens Ayurveda and Yoga Promotion
Conclave Chairman Rashtrabhushan Chakkubaji expressed strong confidence that the Ayush Conclave will make a meaningful and lasting contribution to the development and promotion of Ayurveda, yoga, and associated traditional healing disciplines in Nepal and across the region. He noted that previous editions of the Ayush Conclave have been successfully held in Agra, Goa, and Jaipur in India, events that have built a strong track record of generating productive dialogue, actionable recommendations, and concrete partnerships among stakeholders in the traditional medicine and wellness sectors.
The holding of the conclave in Kathmandu for the first time represents a significant milestone, signalling Nepal’s growing importance as a regional hub for wellness and traditional medicine and creating a new and important chapter in the conclave’s history of building bridges between traditional healing knowledge and contemporary healthcare practice.
A Vision for Nepal’s Wellness Future
The International Ayush Conclave in Kathmandu has concluded with a shared and clearly articulated vision, that Nepal possesses all the ingredients needed to become a world-class destination for wellness, Ayurvedic medicine, yoga, and holistic health tourism. What is needed now is the political will, policy support, institutional investment, and public-private collaboration to translate that vision into reality and position Nepal at the forefront of Asia’s rapidly growing wellness tourism market.
