The India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai will host the Health & Wellness week starting 27th January. With the view of positioning India as the ‘Healthcare Destination of the world’, the weeklong event will showcase India’s expertise in the healthcare sector and the contributions of Medical Value Tourism, Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical, AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) as well as Innovations in healthcare.
Various sessions around the new innovations, India’s contribution to the global pharmaceutical industry, regulatory environment and the potential collaborations in the sector will be held along with G2G and B2B meetings with healthcare delegations from countries such as the UK, USA, Israel, Ireland and Sweden.
The Healthcare & Wellness week is of particular importance at the Expo2020 Dubai as it would witness a diverse gathering of governments, companies, delegations and individuals discussing their experiences in tackling COVID-19 and exchanging ideas and thoughts on the way forward for different segments of the global healthcare industry.
The week will have focussed sessions and roundtables on medical devices, pharmaceutical, AYUSH, Medical Value Travel (MVT) & Healthcare Innovation, and will commence with a panel discussion on R&D and innovation in the medical devices sector followed by an investment pitching session to showcase start-ups in the medical devices segment. The key strategies for promoting MedTech research and innovation, opportunities for collaborations in R&D and mechanisms through which the Indian government is incentivizing investments in R&D will also be discussed on the first day.
India has been consistently viewed as one of the preferred destinations for Medical Value Tourism (MVT) and has grown at a CAGR of 17.02% in the last decade. The ‘Medical Value Travel Post Pandemic’ session on 28th January will highlight the challenges and opportunities in the medical tourism sector. Another roundtable session on export issues with the Gulf countries is slated for the day, given that the Gulf countries play a prominent role in trade for India. A session on initiatives that are being undertaken by the Indian government to create a more favourable environment and ecosystem for foreign tourist arrivals would be held which will also deliberate on further opportunities for collaborations.
The second day will also highlight the strong supply chain and production capabilities of the Indian Pharma Industry that were witnessed globally during COVID-19 through the Pharma Roundtable: India- Pharmacy of the World.
On January 31st, a session to showcase the Healthcare Innovation Partnership and Health Cooperation between India and Sweden through the Healthcare Innovation Centre will be held. This session will have representation from the government as well as innovators from both the countries and would include the launch of Centre of Excellence (CoE), Awards ceremony as well as a Winner Showcase.
Same day, there would be focussed discussions on AYUSH, which has played a very critical role in India during COVID-19. There will be sessions on innovation and scientific validation in AYUSH as well as a roundtable with American and European countries to discuss various opportunities for collaboration.
Among dignitaries, who will be attending the sessions virtually are Ms S. Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, GoI; Dr Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, GoI; Dr V.G. Somani, Drugs Controller General, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI; Dr Balram Bhargava, DG, ICMR, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI; Mr. S Kishore, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI; Mr. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary (IH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI; Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai; Shri Anurag Sharma, Member of Parliament & Chair FICCI AYUSH Committee & JMD, Baidyanath; Mr Uday Bhaskar, DG, Pharmexcil, Ministry of Commerce, GoI; Dr Manish Diwan, Head – Strategy Partnership & Entrepreneurship Development, BIRAC, Department of Biotechnology, GoI; Mr Abhay Sinha, DG, SEPC, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI and others will be present physically.
