BEIRUT, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Health Minister Jamil Jabak vowed Tuesday to support the manufacturing of local pharmaceutical drugs to offer them to citizens at affordable costs, local media reported.

"The boost in local production of pharmaceutical drugs will reduce their prices to become more affordable for citizens," Jabak was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

Jabak added that he will make sure to offer high quality of locally manufactured pharmaceutical drugs to guarantee their effectiveness.

His remarks, came during his meeting with Industry Minister Wael Abou Faour to discuss the importance of supporting local industries to minimize the import of foreign products.

Lebanon-based pharmaceutical production is weak due to high local production costs.

As a result, imports constitute over 95 percent of the total available pharmaceutical products in the market which are even more expensive than locally produced drugs.

The Lebanese have in the past few years resorted to buying their medical needs from nearby countries such as Turkey and Egypt which have strong pharmaceutical markets and low cost of production.