Covid takes UAE- India cooperation to new level
Top diplomats, health officials, healthcare giants to join hands
The pandemic has given a new dimension to UAE- India medical diplomacy, officials said at the ‘ UAE- India Health Conference 2020’ on Monday.
“We have imported medicines from India and were able to get special permission to import hydroxychloroquine and for medical staff to come to the UAE to support our health care platform,” UAE Ambassador to India Dr Ahmed Al Banna said.
“While the Indian government assisted and facilitated through the embassy and the consulate for the repatriation of Indians, we worked very closely with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for repatriation of the UAE nationals in the second week of April.”
Al Banna observed that there is still huge untapped potential in the field of health care.
Manufacturing opportunity
Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor stated that the UAE has shown a strong desire for Indian companies having strong R& D facilities to set up manufacturing facilities for vaccines and generic medicines.
“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, urging Indian companies to look into this offer.
Humaid Al Qutami, directorgeneral of Dubai Health Authority, 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.
Waterfalls initiative
Abdullah Ali Al Mahyan, chairman, Sharjah Health Authority, and Dr Abdul Salam Al Madani, executive chairman of UAE’s Waterfalls initiative that aims to train a million health care professionals across the world, said the UAE was looking forward to collaborating with Indian medical professionals for joining the initiative as both trainers and trainees.
Dr Sangita Reddy, president, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “As the world fights Covid, this is an opportune time for us to go beyond a conference to forge firmer collaborations.”