The members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore Zone from Healthcare and Education sectors had met up with the representatives of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva recently to explore the avenues for possible collaboration for expanding into and development of two important sectors namely Healthcare and Higher Education in East Africa.
The ITC, through its Supporting Indian Trade and Investment for East Africa (SITA) project, is working towards promoting Indian investment in key sectors - primarily in agri-business and manufacturing sectors - in five East African countries, viz. Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and the Republic of Tanzania.
With the fast growing demand for accessible and quality healthcare as well as higher education in the SITA project countries, Healthcare and Higher Education have been identified as emerging sectors with significant potential for internationalisation, India being an emerging leader in the two sectors with its rich diversity of talent and capacity.
Mr.Govind Venuprasad, SITA Coordinator, ITC presented an overview of the SITA project for the participants to understand and explore the potential areas of collaboration. Discussions on the Healthcare sector were led by Dr.Raja Sabapathy, Director, Ganga Hospital, Dr.R.Veluswamy, CEO, G.Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, Dr.Arun Palanisamy, Director - Quality, Kovai Medical Centre Research & Educational Trust, Mr.Jayaram Govindarajan, Executive Director, Women’s Centre, Dr.R.Parthasarathi, Head - Department of Upper GI, GEM Hospital, Dr.Merypal, International Business Director, Sri Ramakrishna Hospital.
Discussions on the Education sector were led by Mr.K.Senthil Ganesh, Convenor, CII Coimbatore Zone Education & III Panel and Managing Trustee, RVS Educational Trust, Dr.N.R.Alamelu, Principal, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College and Dr.Vijila Kennedy, Director, KCT Business School.
A plan of action will now be worked out in consultation with the respective stakeholders in the two sectors, to develop greater exchange and partnership opportunities between India and East Africa, Mr.Venuprasad said.