Historic trade mission to India resulted in fruitful collaborations as numerous MoU’s were signed. The official and business delegation visited New Dehli and Bangalore for collective visits, network events, seminars, bilateral meetings and trade dinners. The aim of the mission to was to provide opportunities to get (more) acquainted with the Indian Health Care sector, to seek new opportunities for cooperation, and to strengthen existing cooperations, as India provides an interesting market for Dutch organisations in the Life Sciences & Health sector.
The largest trade mission to India from the Netherlands took place from the 22- 25 May. The mission was led by Prime Minister Rutte, Minister Kaag (Foreign Trade & Development), Minister Schouten (Agriculture), and Minister Nieuwenhuizen (infrastructure). Hans de Boer, Chairman of VNO-NCW, led the business delegation. Minister Bruins of Medical Care and Sports led the Life Sciences and Health programme. The accompanying business delegation included 28 organisations of which half were knowledge institutions.
The official business delegation started the mission in New Dehli where they were welcomed by Ambassador Stoelinga. The highlight of the kick-off was the one-on-one with Minister Bruins and the business delegation. Two collective visits were made to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Max Super Specialty Hospital, in the presence of Minister Bruins and DG Bas van der Dungen of Curative Care. Max Super Specialty Hospital is one of the premier names in the healthcare world.
The business delegation also participated in the Healthcare Challenges seminar co-organised by NATHEALTH, mainly discussing theme’s in regards to Healthcare Accessibility, Optimised Healthcare through Smart Solutions, Innovation for Affordable Healthcare, Vaccine Partnership & Development and Healthcare Capacity Building.
The visit to New Delhi successfully ended with a Holland trade dinner at the Ambassador’s Residence. MoU’s were signed by Erasmus MC, TU Delft, and LiteVax under the presence of the ministers. In Bangalore, the business delegation started at the Philips Innovation Centre where they were hosted by Mr. Ravi Ramaswamy, Director of Health Systems Philips India. The Innovation Centre set the scene for roundtable discussions with stakeholders from the Bangalore region.
The tour of the Manipal Hospital was the icing on the cake. It is the largest private hospital group in India, offering treatments and facilities across a wide range of specialties, including Cardiac Care, Renal Sciences, Cancer Care and Organ Transplants The business delegation also participated in a discussion regarding regulations, ensuring quality, accessibility and managing budgets & procurements.
At last the trade mission was wrapped up by a Trade Innovation Dinner with a short note from minister Kaag. Equivalent to the trade dinner in New Dehli, several MoU’s were signed by amongst others swyMed and Elsevier.
In line with the positive feedback from the business delegation, the mission has given a phenomenal boost to the already existing relationship between the Netherlands and India within the Life Science and Health sector. Even so that an Indian delegation will be present at the World of Health Care (WoHC) on the 27th of September 2018.
