As per the directives of the Union commerce minister Anand Sharma, the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) for the first time will take the additional responsibility of exploring and promoting investment and joint venture (JV) opportunities in Sri Lanka. Delegates from the Indian government along with top Pharmexcil representatives are expected to have a closed door meeting with the representatives of Sri Lankan government and key stakeholders on August 14 in Sri Lanka.
This pro-industry initiative is part of the key agenda laid out by the Indian government to concentrate on activities that are aimed at building and strengthening India's business relation with all the other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
Pharmexcil usually concentrates on activities focused on building up export activities and trade allocation only, and this is for the first time that the council is venturing into this new role of promoting investment and JV opportunities. However, Dr P V Appaji, director general (DG), Pharmexcil clarified that though this initiative does have a great scope for developing and strengthening business relations with other countries also to a greater level, it will not be a continuous affair and for the time being is just specific and focused only on Sri Lanka.
He further explained, “One of the main reasons why the Indian government has decided to initiate this project with Sri Lanka is because Sri Lankan government is providing a sling of interesting incentives to the Indian companies interested in setting up their base in the country. There are lot of attractive offers and schemes lined up that will surely be beneficial for the companies. So, we urge all the Indian companies to take up this opportunity to further explore their business activities in Sri Lanka.”
Dr Appaji informed that the meeting with the officials slated to be conducted on August 14 is organised mainly to deliberate and discuss on various aspects that are required to carry out this initiative successfully so that both India and Sri Lanka can better understand the other's needs. Pharmexcil has urged all the members and the additional members of the Council to join the delegation that is expected to visit Sri Lanka and avail the exclusive and exciting incentives offered by the Sri Lankan government.
This meeting is being strategically organised by Pharmexcil before the exclusive expo-cum-buyer seller meet (BSM) that is going to be held at Arogya-2012 international healthcare exhibition which is to be held in Sri Lanka. The three day event which is scheduled to be conducted from August 17 to 19 in Colombo is expected to be attended by at least 20 companies from India who will be given an exclusive opportunity to interact with the Sri Lankan counterparts to develop not only export relation but also discuss on possible chance of developing a successful JV or investment opportunity with them in future.