Russia and Thailand Eye Longevity Partnership to Build Asia’s Wellness Hub

 

Forum panel urges prevention, personalised diagnostics and healthier homes, as Russian technology and Thai hospitality are pitched as a joint offer.

 

Doctors, developers and entrepreneurs from Russia, Thailand and the wider region agreed on Saturday that the future of the longevity economy lies in adding healthy years to life, not simply more years.

 

They said Thailand is well placed to become a global hub and called for partnerships that combine Russian biomedical and consumer technology with Thai hospitals, hospitality and real estate.

 

The panel, “Economics of Longevity & Well-Being: People, Technologies & Environment”, was part of the business programme of the Russian-Thai Investment Forum 2026, which ends today (October 31).

 

 

Healthy years, not just more years

The moderator, Cristina Amor Maclang, co-founder and managing partner of BIO-T, framed the discussion around the gap between lifespan and “health span”.

 

She said Thailand should not “gatekeep” its strengths but act as a hub for Southeast Asia and beyond. Dr Evgeny Bugorskiy, a neurologist and chief physician at the Rehaline Rehabilitation Center, put numbers on that gap.

 

Citing global figures, he said average life expectancy is about 71 years but healthy life expectancy is only about 61. About 55 million people live with dementia, he said, and the number is projected to reach 140 million by 2050.

 

He said around 45 per cent of dementia cases are linked to 14 modifiable risk factors identified by the Lancet Commission, including high blood pressure, diabetes, hearing loss and social isolation.

 

 

 

Dr Bugorskiy said brain function can be improved. He described non-invasive nerve stimulation combined with exercise and cognitive training to boost the brain’s ability to rewire itself.

 

The technology, he stressed, is “not a magic device”, but an amplifier of rehabilitation and prevention.

 

 

Diagnostics first

Speakers agreed that care should start with measurement. Asked what a Russian visitor with only a week in Bangkok should do, Dr Jira Thawornpradit, assistant director of the BDMS Wellness Clinic, recommended a deep full-body assessment covering brain, gut and body health, followed by personalised treatment.

 

Dr Jira said BDMS, Thailand’s largest private hospital group, runs a dedicated wellness clinic built on “scientific wellness”, using genomic and epigenetic testing and long-term follow-up rather than one-off check-ups.

 

She said clients are called “happy people” in Thai, not patients. She added that medical tourism is growing but wellness tourism needs one-stop, personal-assistant services to catch up.

 

Nikolas Monte, of the Russian Industry Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs “Beauty and Health of the Nation”, presented digital “avatars” of patients and doctors.

 

He said they could pull fragmented health data into one personal record and are being tested in Moscow, Qatar, Oman and Dubai.

 

 

 

Homes as part of the treatment

A second message was that the environment matters as much as clinics. Proudputh Liptapanlop, executive director of Proud Real Estate, said people spend more than half their time at home, so wellness real estate should combine healthy design with ongoing services.

 

She described a Bangkok project where a doctor from a neighbouring BDMS hospital meets residents on arrival to discuss family history and risks. The project also offers prescription delivery to the residence and a shared in-building facility to track cognitive and physical progress.

 

Other panellists made similar points. Ian Alvaera of HAH, a Philippine company, described homes in which data from residents’ wearables adjusts light, air quality and temperature automatically.

 

Dr Panya Boonyapiwat of Begistics Public Company said his group was developing leasehold wellness villas in Phuket aimed at long-stay Russian visitors. He noted that foreigners cannot own land in Thailand.

 

 

Products and services built for local needs

Sergei Gorbunov, managing director of Siberian Wellness, said the company develops supplements from plants that survive Siberia’s extreme temperatures. It has already tailored products to Thai needs, including a blood-sugar supplement with Thai FDA approval, which he said is not a pharmacological product.

 

The company sells in more than 60 countries and invited Thai partners to visit its offices. Grigory Vasiltsov, founder of the Vietnam-based PAYG.INSURE, argued that people now want to pay to stay healthy, not to be treated. His pay-as-you-go cover switches on when a user starts an activity on a smartwatch and charges by the minute.

 

It is launching in Russia through a bank’s app. He is seeking Thai insurers, super-apps, banks, clinics and investors as partners. Thailand’s pitch Several speakers said Thailand’s mix of private hospitals, hospitality and value for money gives it an edge.

 

Henning Kalwa, founder of ImagineHealth, said the Thai FDA and private sector are behind the push and that the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s slogan this year is “Healing is the new luxury”.

 

He said Thailand became a medical-tourism leader when geopolitical shocks redirected patients elsewhere, and a similar opening now exists for Russia and the CIS.

 

Gerard Cedric Reyes of My Sanctuary Wellness, which has 120 aesthetic clinics in the Philippines, said his group wants Thai and Russian partners for clinical expertise and research. He said it would pilot longevity services in its premium clinics before expanding.

 

Kuntu, chair of the Thai-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, said investment and government, hospital and university support were needed so that prices fall and longevity services reach more people.

 

 

What the panel recommended

Although no joint statement was issued, the discussion pointed to several shared steps:

• Make prevention and personalised diagnostics the entry point to wellness programmes.

• Build wellness into homes and communities, with links between developers and hospitals.

• Pair Russian biomedical, digital and consumer technologies with Thai clinical networks and tourism infrastructure.

• Run pilots, for example, in insurance, digital health records and smart housing, with Thai and regional partners.

 

Asked for one longevity tip, panellists suggested controlling sugar, staying active, keeping the mind engaged, and having a reason to wake up in the morning.