Private Industry and Investment Adviser of Bangladesh Prime Minister Salman F Rahman and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma on Saturday jointly inaugurated a new plant of India's leading pharmaceutical company, Sun Pharma, at Meghna Industrial Economic Zone.
Sun Pharma is the world's fourth-largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company with operations in over 100 countries.
This is the company's second investment in Bangladesh with a production capacity of over 1 billion tablets and capsules per year.
Speaking at the ceremony, the High Commissioner highlighted the new investment as part of the growing economic and industrial engagement between Bangladesh and India, and a visible symbol of the recent transformation of their relationship.
He stressed that the plant, which is the first pharmaceutical unit in any Economic Zone of Bangladesh, is not just a testament to India's continued commitment to promote partnership with Bangladesh, but also reflects the growing interest among Indian businesses to invest in Bangladesh.
High Commissioner Verma noted the strong bilateral cooperation in the health sector, including the close engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic when India supplied vaccines under "Vaccine Maitri" and Oxygen Express trains to Bangladesh, while Bangladesh gifted critical medicines to India.
Recognizing the significant progress made by Bangladesh's pharmaceutical industry in the last few decades, the High Commissioner underscored the emergence of Bangladesh as a key player in generic drug manufacturing.
He noted that India has been a credible partner in the growth story of Bangladesh's pharmaceutical industry meeting about 30 per cent of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) demand of Bangladesh.
With a renewed focus on domestic production backed by a host of government incentives, he said that there are ample opportunities for Indian manufacturers to establish business partnerships with Bangladesh companies in the form of Joint Ventures, joint R and D efforts and technology tie-ups.
The High Commissioner highlighted that new Indian investments into Bangladesh demonstrated by today's event not only strengthen bilateral economic ties but also mark another step towards establishing stronger supply chain and value chain linkages between the two economies, which he said was the way to reinforce the economic ties between the two countries oriented towards the future.
