'UAE-India Healthcare Conference 2020', was recently organised jointly by Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi and Consulate General of India, Dubai, FICCI and Invest India, to explore ways and means for promoting collaboration and partnerships in the fields of healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and alternative medicines.

HE Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to UAE drew attention towards close collaboration between the two countries during COVID times, and stated that the UAE side had shown 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," said Kapoor.

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 UAE side. The introduction of AYUSH system of traditional Indian medicine can also be used to complement the health system in the UAE.” 

HE Dr Ahmed Albanna, Ambassador of UAE to India, said that COVID-19 has altered the dynamics of our global economic ecosystems. "COVID-19 will mark an era of a paradigm shift in the realm of diplomacy with healthcare medical diplomacy taking the centre stage,” Dr Albanna said.

Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI, said that at no other time in the world has healthcare become as centre stage as it is today. "This is an important meeting of people with shared ideologies to innovate, collaborate and to find new solutions, she said.

The conference also had three separate sessions focussing on 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.