UAE to provide incentives to Indian healthcare firms with strong R&D facilities: Envoy

Dubai, October 19

The UAE government will provide incentives, including financial contributions, and will make efforts to create a full ecosystem to support Indian healthcare manufacturing companies having strong research and development facilities, India’s envoy in the country said.

The UAE-India Healthcare Conference 2020, which was organised on Monday jointly by Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, and Consulate General of India, Dubai, FICCI and Invest India, helped explore ways to promote collaboration and partnerships in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and alternative medicines.

Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to the UAE, drew attention toward close collaboration between the two countries during Covid times and stated that the UAE side had shown a strong desire for setting up manufacturing facilities for vaccines and generic medicines by Indian companies having strong R&D facilities.

“The UAE government will provide incentives, including financial contributions, and will also make efforts to create a full ecosystem to support such healthcare manufacturing companies from India,” he said.                   

Kapoor asked Indian companies to look into this offer, which will provide an excellent opportunity for them to enter into the Gulf Cooperation Council  (GCC) as well as African markets in the entire pharma supply chain ecosystem.

The GCC is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates - except Iraq.

Ambassador Kapoor also emphasised that there were huge opportunities for the UAE to invest in India where seven mega parks- three in the pharmaceutical sector and four in medical devices have recently been announced.

“Ayushman Bharat Yojana requires a lot of infrastructure and the same can be complemented by the UAE side. The introduction of AYUSH system of traditional Indian medicine can also be used to complement the health system in the UAE,” he added.

Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General of Dubai Health Authority said, “The UAE and India share a deep-rooted, historic partnership and there are several areas in the health sector where both sides can explore collaboration and continue this partnership with an aim to benefit the people of both the countries and provide high-quality and efficient patient care”.

Humaid Al Qutami also highlighted areas such as innovation, research and development, medical education and training as well as telehealth, where there is a strong potential for further collaboration.

He added that this conference would be the right forum to establish a channel to achieve the common goals for the healthcare sectors of both countries. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration between both the countries, he added.

Ahmed Albanna, Ambassador of the UAE to India, said that COVID-19 has altered the dynamics of our global economic ecosystems.

Ambassador Albanna said: “COVID-19 will mark an era of a paradigm shift in the realm of diplomacy with healthcare medical diplomacy taking the centre stage.

In the wake of the pandemic, the new dimension of medical diplomacy has indeed further bolstered the strategic partnership between the two nations. There is a huge untapped potential in the healthcare sectors between the two countries, he added.

Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI, said that at no other time in the world has healthcare become as centerstage as it is today.

“This is an important meeting of people with shared ideologies to innovate, collaborate and to find new solutions, she said.

Abdulla Ali Al Mahyan, Chairman, Sharjah Health Authority, and Dr Amin Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary of Health Policy and Licensing, Ministry of Health and Prevention, Abu Dhabi stressed on the historic and strategic relationship that exists between both the nations.

“We have great cooperation with India, and we look forward to supporting any Indian pharma or medical industry to invest with us,” Dr Amiri said. Dr Amiri also provided several facts about Indian healthcare workers and UAE as well as pharma and medical tourism, going forward.

Dr Praveen Gedam, Additional CEO of National Health Authority, highlighted the transformation currently underway in India as the Ayushman Bharat Programme is being delivered.

This program will eventually benefit more than 500 million people and create huge opportunities for investment by the UAE and other international investors in the healthcare sector., he said.

Dr Aman Puri, Consul General of India, said, “This conference becomes all the more relevant as key stakeholders from UAE and India healthcare landscapes join together to deliberate on exploring new avenues for partnership between the two countries.”

Abdul Salam Al Madani, Executive Chairman, Waterfalls, UAE said that there is a need to further strengthen business relations with India. 

Dr Azad Moopen, Chairman & MD, Aster DM Healthcare; Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, Chairman & MD, VPS Healthcare Group; Girish Krishnamurty, CEO & Director- Tata Medical and Diagnostics, Tata MD; Dr Akbar Moideen, VP Thumbay Group; Dr Viren Shetty from Narayana Hrudayalaya; Sophiya Faizal, Director, KEF Holdings (Meitra Hospital), Dr Taher Shams, MD Zulekha India, made presentations on opportunities in healthcare in the UAE and India.

The conference also had three separate sessions focusing on the UAE India Partnership in Healthcare Delivery, Pharma & Medical Devices and Ayush in which renowned doctors, entrepreneurs and regulatory authorities made their presentation and discussed ways and means to further boost bilateral cooperation in the respective fields. PTI

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