As part of 'Brand India Campaign' to counter the multinational companies' (MNCs) propaganda against the Indian generic drugs in the African countries, Union Commerce Ministry will organize an 'Indo-Africa Pharma Business Meet' at Hyderabad from September 17 to 19. A 32-member Indian trade delegation, headed by senior commerce ministry officials, is currently visiting South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia as part of this campaign.

A large number of importers, buyers and drug regulatory officials from various African countries have been invited by the ministry to attend the meeting which will be another attempt by the Indian government to allay any fears among the African countries about the quality of Indian generic drugs.

Pharmexcil executive director Dr P V Appaji said that 70 to 80 delegates from major African countries like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Benin, Guinea, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia etc. will be invited for this brand building exercise.

The brand building campaign will be part of the Indian government's aggressive campaign against the MNCs' propaganda against generic drugs in the African countries. The meeting will be a major platform for the Indian pharma industry and the government to allay any fears among the African countries about the quality of Indian generic drugs.

The total imports of drugs and pharmaceuticals of African Region is around US$ 5,000 mn and India's share is 20.66 per cent with about US$1,005 mn of exports in 2007-08. There exists a huge potential for the Indian pharma exporters to enhance their export performance to African countries, Dr Appaji said.

There will be technical sessions during the three-day meeting, where drug regulatory officials of various African countries will make presentations on drug regulatory systems in their respective countries. Emphasis will be on one-to-one meetings with the buyers. Besides, plant visits will also be organized for the drug regulatory authorities of various African countries.

Exhibition will also be organized by the Indian pharma exporters, to showcase the strength and quality of Indian generic drugs.

Main objective of the Indian government's aggressive 'Brand India Campaign' is to desist the African countries from introducing laws in their countries under which the generic drugs will be treated as counterfeit drugs. Under the influence of the MNCs propaganda, some African countries like Kenya and Uganda had recently come out with draft Bills under which even generic drugs will be classified as counterfeit drugs. India is concerned over the development because of the fact that apart from Kenya and Uganda, other African countries are also intending to follow suit which will put the Indian pharma industry in great trouble as Indian companies are the major exporters of generic drugs to several African countries.