PM Modi visits UK Pavilion at Vibrant Gujarat

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], Jan.10 (ANI): The UK Department for International Trade (DIT) India is leading a large delegation of 65 people from 30 innovative UK companies to this year's Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, which runs from 9-13 January 2017 in Gandhinagar. The UK is a country partner for the summit and will be showcasing the UK's capability in the life sciences sector with a particular focus on pharmaceutical manufacturing and development. UK Life Sciences companies will be participating in the trade mission with the aim of forging new partnerships. The Life Sciences Mission will visit Vibrant Gujarat from 9-11 January and then move on to Mumbai for an event on 12 January. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi along with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani visited the UK Pavilion of Vibrant Gujarat on 9 January. Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG, British High Commissioner to India, will be leading the UK delegation at the Summit. Sir Dominic said: "We are thrilled to have the Indian Prime Minister visit the UK Pavilion which showcases different aspects of the UK's offer to India, including business, culture, education and tourism. PM Narendra Modi has called the UK and India an "unbeatable combination". "It is remarkable that a large percentage of medicines prescribed in the UK are 'Made in India' and a demonstration of how our two countries are so successfully working together in the healthcare and life science sectors. These medicines make an important contribution to controlling the costs of healthcare provided through our National Health Service. We have chosen to focus our country session at Vibrant Gujarat on life sciences and, in particular, the area of pharmaceutical manufacture and development. This is because we believe the UK is a natural partner to India in this sector and that we can do much more together. The UK is a recognised global leader in medical research, with a proven track record of innovation, cutting-edge technology and commercialisation, on all of which it can collaborate with India who is a global leader in generic drug manufacturing." Sir Dominic will call on the Chief Minister of Gujarat along with Geoff Wain, Deputy High Commissioner to Gujarat, for a one-on-one meeting to discuss deeper collaboration between the State of Gujarat and the UK. He will also open the UK's country session at Vibrant Gujarat on 11 January and visit the UK pavilion at the Summit. The UK pavilion has inputs from the Department for International Trade, British Council and Visit Britain. The UK has one of the world's leading Life Science sectors. Over the past 60 years there has been a revolution in the number, specificity and safety of human medicines with the UK playing an important role in this process. The UK life sciences sector has over 5600 companies generating £60bn worth of revenue to the country's economy. (ANI)