JEDDAH, 4 June 2006 — A senior Indian minister has called for a sustained and serious interaction between medical professionals of India and Saudi Arabia at teaching and research levels.
“We should look at strong links between the Indian Council of Medical Research and its affiliated organizations with parallel bodies across Saudi Arabia,” Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said in his keynote address at the inauguration of Indo-Saudi Medical Forum at the Jeddah Hilton on Friday.
“We should also look at providing opportunities for teachers and researchers at medical universities in India,” he said at the event attended by Saudi hospital directors, businessmen and medical professionals.
The minister urged the new forum to represent the interests of the nursing profession, as Indian nurses in the Gulf were among the country’s most successful ambassadors. “We’ve the facility to train nurses in India and would be glad to extend assistance,” the minister added.
Health care is another area of interaction, as Indian hospitals are increasingly opening their services to foreign visitors, many of whom find them an affordable and viable option to other available forms of care. “Our government has indeed introduced a new category of medical visas,” he said.
One of the areas where both countries see great potential is higher education. “It’s a matter of pride that there are so many products of medical colleges and universities of India working in the Kingdom,” he said.
“Our government, with improved rural health care as one of its major aims, has liberalized entry norms in the health care industry for private players,” he said, adding that the health insurance market has been opened to private competition.
Dr. Khaled Batterjee of the Saudi German Hospital (SGH) said he hoped the new forum would facilitate a regular exchange of information in the medical field. “What is required is a systematic transfer of knowledge from a great nation like India,” Batterjee said.
Ambassador M.O.H. Farook said Indian doctors were of the highest standard and had thus been occupying top positions in the West and other parts of the world. “Indian medical institutions are of the highest standard and inexpensive,” he added.
Consul General Ausaf Sayeed said the new forum would be a milestone in the bilateral cooperation between the medical fraternities of the two countries, especially in sectors like hospital management, medical tourism, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, consultancy, software and surgical equipment manufacturing.
Some of the Indian pharmaceutical companies are turning global by acquiring units in advanced countries. “Thus, we feel, there could be a strong synergy in this vital field.”
He pointed out that Indian drugs were of international standard and were competitively priced. Thus, it would serve the cause of both countries to look seriously at the possibility of tie-ups in the field of pharmaceuticals.
ISMF Vice President Dr. M.S. Karimuddin said the forum, under the patronage of the consulate, would provide a platform for the medical professionals of both countries.
