At the meeting, within the framework of the 18th International Medical, Hospital & Pharmaceutical Exhibition (Vietnam Medi Pharm Expo), Indian Consul General in HCMC K. Srikar Reddy said 44 Indian companies have joined the expo, which is considered an ideal opportunity for them to promote cooperation with domestic partners.

Last year, Vietnam spent US$283 million on importing pharmaceutical products from India, up 2.5% over the previous year. In the coming days, Indian enterprises will enhance their investment in the sector in Vietnam, Reddy added.

Raghuveer Kini, executive director of the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India, told attendees of the meeting that the prime ministers of both India and Vietnam considered the pharmaceutical industry a priority sector for bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

India is currently home to more than 3,000 pharmaceutical companies, with over 10,000 units producing high-quality insulin, antiretroviral drugs and anti-cancer drugs. India has exported its pharmaceutical products to more than 180 countries and territories worldwide, and supplies 65% of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and tuberculosis vaccines and 90% of rubella vaccines for the World Health Organization.

Truong Hung, vice chairman of the HCMC Medical Equipment Association, noted that the Vietnamese medical equipment market had grown annually by 15% to reach US$816 million last year, with 95% of medical equipment being imported.

The number of elderly in Vietnam has increased sharply, resulting in a higher demand for healthcare services. As such, the Government has set a target to expand the manufacture of common medical equipment to meet 60% of local demand in the years ahead, Hung remarked.

In addition, Vietnam has issued several preferential policies for the medical sector, such as exempting newly established hospitals from paying corporate income tax and encouraging foreign investors to get involved in the local medical equipment sector.

At present, Vietnam has high demand for diagnostic imaging equipment, equipment used for sterilization and patient monitoring and lab equipment.