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India a major player in Kenya's healthcare sector: Rahul Chhabra
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Vishal Gulati | 06 May, 2019
India has emerged as a key player in Kenyas healthcare sector and needs
to build on this, Indias High Commissioner to Kenya Rahul Chhabra has
said.
"The Indian healthcare industry has established its roots
in Kenya. Indian hospitals have begun investing not only in Nairobi, but
also in other cities and could increase their presence in this sector,"
Chhabra told IANS in an interview here on the sidelines of the UN
Environment annual assembly.
"Over 10,000 Kenyan patients travel
to India (annually) for medical purposes and this underscores the need
for affordable healthcare in Kenya," Chhabra, who is concurrently the
Indian ambassador to Somalia, said.
Between them, these medical tourists spend some $100 million annually.
As per official figures, Kenya spends $482 million annually to import drugs, mainly from India.
"This
opens up a window of opportunity for pharma companies keen to invest in
Kenya," Chhabra, who has been in office since last November, said.
Kenyan
President Uhuru Kenyatta has often invited Indian firms to set up
manufacturing units in this country and make it a regional distribution
hub for generic drugs.
The establishment of a cancer hospital,
the first India-Japan collaboration in Kenya, has been announced at the
highest level and discussions are underway to speedily take this
forward, the envoy said.
India has offered to connect the leading
hospitals of Kenya through e-Arogya Bharti telemedicine network. It
will help in training of medical professionals across the country.
In
this context, Chhabra noted that affordable healthcare is an element in
the "big four" agenda that Kenyan government has rolled out to take the
country on a development path. This offers several trade and investment
opportunities to Indian companies, Chhabra said, adding that two lines
of credit amounting to $45 million have already been extended to the
East African nation.
"The government of Kenya has rolled out its
ebig four' agenda -- food security, affordable housing, manufacturing
and affordable healthcare, to take the country on a development path to
improve the lives of its citizens," Chhabra said.
The objectives set out in the agenda offer immense trade opportunities for Indian companies to invest in Kenya, he said.
Several
Indian companies are already investing in the agricultural sector to
provide seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and agricultural implements,
among others.
Over 60 major Indian firms have offices and factories in the Kenyan capital. Tata and Airtel are household names.
According
to Chhabra, Indian companies can establish manufacturing and assembly
units in Kenya. Consumer products and construction are other areas which
offer lucrative opportunities.
To improve India-Kenya bilateral
trade, which is at nearly $3 billion, a number of buyer-seller meets are
regularly organised, he said.
On India's agreement to extend two
Lines of Credit amounting to $45 million for upgrading Kenya's
manufacturing capacity, he said: "Modernisation of Rivatex (Rift Valley
Textiles Factory - Rivatex East Africa Ltd) is a shining example of
success of India's Line of Credit."
"A total of $29.3 million was
given through the Exim Bank of India. The project is expected to be
completed in the coming few weeks and will increase the installed
capacity (of 10 bales a day) by about eight times," the envoy explained.
Another
$15 million has been given for the development of SME (Small and Medium
Enterprises) and is being implemented through IDB Capital.
Chhabra
also said Kenya is completing its internal procedures to soon join the
International Solar Alliance (ISA), launched by India and France at the
UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015.
So far 74 countries have signed the ISA's Framework Agreement and 52 have ratified it.
A
brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the India-based ISA
inter-governmental body has set a target of producing 1,000 GW of solar
energy and mobilising over $1,000 billion into the generation of solar
energy by 2030. Both India and Kenya have abundant sunlight.
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