By Sorwar Alam
ANKARA (AA) – There are huge opportunities in Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical sector for Turkish companies to invest and develop joint ventures, Bangladesh’s Ankara envoy said Thursday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency following a seminar on Bangladeshi pharmaceutical industries in Ankara, Ambassador M. Allama Siddiki said the countries enjoy good cultural and trade relations, adding that cooperation in this sector should be developed.
Bangladesh’s Embassy in Ankara along with the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) organized the event, followed by an exhibit of pharmaceutical products from Bangladesh and a B2B meeting between Turkish and Bangladeshi pharmaceutical firms.
Top representatives of 10 companies from Bangladesh and more than 25 companies from Turkey along with Turkish Labor and Health Ministry officials attended the program.
Bangladesh's pharmaceutical industry has made tremendous strides over the last decade, said Siddiki, adding that the industry has been exporting medicines to over 125 countries across the globe.
A recent report on Bangladesh's pharmaceutical sector published by LR Global, an asset management firm, predicted that the sector could grow 15 percent over the next five years.
With backward integration, quality research facilities, and skilled human resources, Bangladesh’s pharmaceuticals industry can emerge as a world leader in producing off-patent generic medicine, according to the report published in July.
The data also said the size of Bangladesh’s industry is $2 billion. As of July 2016, the top 10 companies in the industry represented around 70 percent of domestic market share.
-Exports around the world
Allama Siddiki underlined that the industry meets around 98 percent of the local demand.
The U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, China, and the United Arab Emirates are among the largest importers of Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products this year, according to the Directorate General of Drug Administration, Bangladesh’s sole drug regulatory authority.
“We request that the two business communities come closer. Not just that we would like to sell our products to Turkey. Not at all. We also would like to import from Turkey. If the two business communities can come closer, they can do a lot. They can procure from each other…. They can do joint products. They can do joint ventures,” Siddiki added.
In the fiscal year 2017, the industry is expected to see exports earn $90.3 million, according to LR Global.
BAPI Chairman S. M. Shafiuzzaman also underlined the quality of pharmaceuticals produced in Bangladesh.
“Our products are being supplied to U.S., U.K., Japan and other developed countries, proving the quality of medicine produced in Bangladesh, ” he added.
“We’re looking forward to working with our Turkish brothers,” Shafiuzzaman said, adding that medicine in Bangladesh is among the lowest priced in the world.
He said two Bangladeshi companies had made deals with Turkish partners and started selling medicine to the Turkish market, “but we want more cooperation “.
Shafiuzzaman thanked the Turkish public and private institutions for their huge interest in the event.
Hakki Gursoz, head of the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, said he had touted the collaboration and cooperation between the two “brotherly” countries.
He mentioned that just as Turkey has its vision 2023, Bangladesh has its vision 2021 to reach their own development goals.
So this is the perfect time to establish pharmaceutical industry ties, he added.
Orhan Yegin, Turkey’s deputy labor and social security minister, also stressed further cooperation in the pharmaceutical industry.
He also underlined that the countries have deep relations, saying that health sector ties must be developed.
“Along with our Health Ministry, the Labor Ministry will do our best to support initiatives for boost cooperation in pharmaceuticals,” he added.
As this is the first time the Turkish and Bangladeshi pharmaceutical industry have come together for discussions, companies exchanged their experiences and expectations.
