The Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) will lead delegations to Philippines and Algeria in the coming months. These are to be the first major assignments to be taken up by the newly formed council.

The office bearers of the council who had a formal discussion with the Commerce Ministry officials here said that the ministry had agreed to approve the proposals for conducting the foreign trips. "The ministry officials have asked us to submit the proposals and have agreed to sanction it," D B Modi, chairman Pharmexcil informed pharmabiz.

According to him, the plans for organizing the business trips were finalized after the requests from the Indian Embassies in these countries. It should be noted that a recent statement of the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry announcing their plans to abandon drug imports from India, had triggered lot of confusion among the industry circles. Pharmabiz had reported about the appeal made by the Pharmexcil to the Indian Embassy in Manila to intervene and convince the Philippines authorities of the quality and capabilities of Indian pharma sector.

The Council had also urged the Ambassador and the Indian commerce secretary to invite a high power health and trade delegation from Phillipines to India for assessing the real pharma situation here.

The suggestion from the Indian Embassy in Manila to the Pharmexcil to take an industry delegation from India has come as a response to the requests made by the council, it is learnt.

The Pharmexcil office bearers also gave their views on the Exim Policy during their Delhi visit.

The council leaders said that the industry response to the new council has been encouraging. "We were formed only on May 2, 2004. In such a short span of time we have been able to secure the memberships of 600 members. We have also been issuing RCMC certificates to these members", Modi said.