The main impulse for conducting the conference was the visit of the State Secretary of the highest Ayurvedic authority in the Indian Ministry of Health (AYUSH). H.E. State Secretary Nilanjan Sanyal was welcomed by H.E. the Indian Ambassador Vijay Gokhal and by the host Prof. Dr. Andreas Michalsen, Head of the Department CAM at Immanuel Hospital Berlin and owner of the Charité Professorship of Clinical CAM. As a distinguished guest, MP Wilfried Lorenz took part in the event. Also for the media Ayurveda has become a focus topic, which was underpinned by the presence of the renowned regional and national broadcasting companies ZDF, RBB, ARTE and MDR.

The growing professionalization of Ayurvedic medicine in Germany and Europe was content at the symposium presented by renowned Ayurvedic experts. The peculiarities of the specific development of Ayurveda were outlined, which are attributed to the characteristics of the German health care system and the needs of the German patients. With the high-ranking guests from India, the differences in the requirements for the development of infrastructure for Ayurvedic medicine in Germany were discussed.

Alongside the conference discussions were held with the Indian delegation. Selected Ayurvedic experts from the fields of research, clinical practice, education and professional associations discussed the next steps in the German-Indian cooperation. In particular, the common opinion of both delegations was that EbM research plays a vital role in the promotion of the positive development of Ayurvedic medicine in Germany. Secretary of State Sanyal stated that research will be supported by more specific research projects from the Indian side. A breakthrough for the funding of research projects in the field of Ayurveda, according to Kessler, could be achieved within the EU project "Horizon 2020 ", which offers funds for multinational research collaborations between Indian and European universities.

Secretary of State Nilanjan Sanyal uttered positive statements towards further support of research projects in Germany by the Indian Government. For the successful anchoring of Ayurvedic medicine in the German healthcare system, Sanyal called for concrete discussions with policy makers in Germany. Prerequisite for this is a standardization and quality assurance of Ayurvedic preparations. The Indian Government has already launched a number of projects in this direction including continuous contact with representatives of the EU Commission and efforts to counteract over-regulation.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Michalsen, chief physician at the Immanuel Hospital Berlin and Chair holder for Clinical CAM at the Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics at Charité University Medicine Berlin, explained how the current practice Ayurvedic medicine in Germany could serve as a model for integrative medicine on a global level. He advocated an approach which combined modern "Western" medicine with traditional medical systems. Because of their multi-modal, individualized and holistic approach Michalsen rates Ayurvedic medicine as the best integrative medicine system of the future.

Dr. P. Ram Manohar of the AVP Research Foundation in Coimbatore described concrete research activities and strategies which are capable of fostering the acceptance of Ayurveda in the context of conventional medicine. In this context, thorough analysis of the core concepts of Ayurvedic medicine and evaluation of the results and mechanisms of complex treatment approaches are of great importance. Manohar stated that Ayurveda has to be modified according to the local and society-specific conditions of a country, but still has to be kept from deviating from its fundamental principles.

Dr. Christian Kessler, research coordinator at the Charité University Outpatient Department for CAM at Immanuel Hospital Berlin, informed the audience about current Ayurveda projects in Germany and called for support of professional Ayurvedic networks. He presented the state of development of trial on complex Ayurvedic treatment in osteoarthritis of the knee, which is financed by the Indian Government and will be completed in 2014. With the course of the study, the research partners were very satisfied and agreed that the study represents a very good experience base for further research projects.

According to Kessler, another opportunity to boost the positive development of Ayurvedic medicine in Germany could be the inclusion of Ayurvedic medicine in the catalog of super qualifications for medical doctors by the German Medical Association. An application is currently being prepared by the German Medical Society for Ayurveda Medicine (DÄGAM) and is configured in cooperation with other German Ayurveda Associations and the Hufeland Society for CAM.