India, Sri Lanka to expand cooperation to  combat challenges in health sector: Indian envoy

COLOMBO:  India and Sri Lanka will significantly step up cooperation to combat the emerging challenges in the health sector, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said, while lauding Sri Lanka’s Free Health Policy which has been consistent in its progress since post-Independence era.

 

The Indian envoy who was addressing at the inauguration ceremony of three-day Medicare 2019 in Colombo, underlined cooperation as need of the hour in healthcare sector and noted that there are several things that both the countries can learn from each other in the domain.

 

Mr Sandhu said “As diseases know no boundaries, our cooperation in healthcare needs to go beyond frontiers – the only way to combat the emerging challenges in the health sector is to share knowledge, techniques and best practices. For us, collaboration is celebration. Partnership is progress.”

 

 

In his address, the High Commissioner complimented Sri Lanka for its outstanding achievements in the healthcare sector including its improved health indicators which are comparable to some of the most developed countries in the world.

 

The Indian envoy also mentioned transformative changes taking place in Indian healthcare sector which offer a lot of opportunities for the industry in both countries to innovate and grow together.

He said that India has carved out a niche for itself in areas such as cardiac and orthopedic procedures, neuro-surgeries, cancer treatment and organ transplantation.

 

The 10th edition of Medicare Exhibition, National Healthcare Exhibition of Sri Lanka, was inaugurated on Friday by Dr Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Colombo page reported.

 

Faizal Cassim, Deputy Minister of Health of Sri Lanka, Dr Razia Pendse, WHO Representative for Sri Lanka, senior officials from Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, and several healthcare professionals were also present.

Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Dr Senaratne also hailed about the recent achievements of Sri Lanka in the health sector.

 

The Medicare is a B2C Exhibition that focuses on introducing and promoting the latest advances in medical science and technology.

(AGENCIES)