Speech by Mr. Rajesh Uike, Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Republic of Tajikistan
India-Tajikistan Pharma Business Meet – 2024 organized by Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) in association with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan
25 July 2024
Mr. Shodikhon Jamshed, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan
Mr. Khaidar Rajabov, Deputy Chairman of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan
Distinguished representatives of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, participants, friends and colleagues,
Good morning to you all.
I am delighted to be present at the opening ceremony of India-Tajikistan Pharma Business Meet that aims to bring about a better understanding and appreciation of opportunities in India amongst the Tajik business community and to build a strong foundation for our efforts at promoting trade and investment partnerships between the Indian and Tajik business communities.
It should be noted, that today's conference and B2B meetings, with the participation of representatives of 79 Indian and more than 50 Tajik companies, is one of the largest events of this format held between our countries during the entire period of our relations.
Over the last three decades, relations between India and Tajikistan have grown on encompass all fields of human endeavor ranging from foreign policy to trade and economy, science and technology to education and human resource development. Bilateral trade is steadily increasing as are relations at people-to-people level and cooperation in the field of education and training.
In the fiscal year 2023-24 our bilateral trade stood at approx. USD 51.65 million, overall exports to Tajikistan amounted to USD 51.64 million, with pharmaceutical exports nearly USD 37 million, accounting for 73% of our total trade. Indian pharmaceutical products occupy approximately 25% of the Tajik market. According to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan, more than 500 types of medicines are currently registered in Tajikistan, which are produced by more than 60 Indian pharmaceutical companies.
Currently, we are also discussing with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of Tajikistan the issues of recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia by Tajikistan.
Indian Pharmacopoeia is recognized as the official book of standards for the drugs being manufactured and/or marketed/exported in India. It contains a collection of authoritative procedures of analysis and specifications of drugs for their identity, purity and strength. The standards of the Indian Pharmacopoeia are authoritative in nature and are enforced by the regulatory authorities for ensuring the quality of drugs in India.
Several benefits of recognition of IP include:
· It would boost the export of Indian pharmaceutical products to Tajikistan as it would remove double regulation, duplication in testing and post importation checks.
· Further, importers of Tajikistan would gain access to quality Indian medical products at affordable prices.
· Tajik manufacturers would have better scope for development of generic medicines contributing to availability of affordable medicines to their citizens.
· The various reference standards and impurity standards would become available to these manufacturers at a reasonable cost.
Cooperation between our countries in the medical field is not limited only to the pharmaceutical sector. Thus, in 2014, Government of India renovated and fully equipped 50-bedded hospital in Bokhtar district, which rendered free-of-cost valuable medical services for the period of 8 years to the Armed Forces and civilian populace of Tajikistan based on technical support and financial assistance from Government of India. In 2022 it was handed over to Tajik Government.
Apart from this, Government of India has also provided medical support in other forms to Tajikistan. India provided 2 million doses of oral polio vaccine through UNICEF in 2010 after the outbreak of Polio in south-west Tajikistan. In March 2018, India gifted 10 ambulances to various regions of Tajikistan. In May 2020, India provided 50,000 HCQ tablets and 100,000 paracetamol tablets to Tajikistan. In 2021, approx 700,000 ‘Made in India’ Covishield vaccines were supplied to Tajikistan.
Last year over 250 Tajik professionals and students have gone to India under various scholarship schemes of Indian Government and approximately 250 new Indian medical students have commenced their education in Avicenna Medical University in Dushanbe. Larger and larger number of Tajik citizens are travelling to India for business, tourism and medical treatment, and hundreds of Indian workers and professionals are engaged in Rogun and other energy projects that will help Tajikistan harness the potential of its hydro-energy resources.
Representatives of Tajik business regularly participate in various medical exhibitions/fairs in India. Thus, 12 Tajik companies took part in the 8th International Pharma and Healthcare Exhibition iPHEX held in September 2022, and this week we also received 17 nominees for participation in the 10th edition of iPHEX-2024 to be held in August. Apart from this, a representative of Tajik Ministry of Health took part in the 6th edition International Summit on Medical Value Travel "Advantage Healthcare India 2023" held in New Delhi in April 2023.
Dear friends,
Let me express hope that this 2-day event will help to establish new ties and further promote mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries.
In this respect I want to appreciate the efforts of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tajikistan in organizing this event.
I would like to sincerely wish to all of you a fruitful work and success in all your undertakings.
Thank you for the attention.
