New Delhi: India has stressed the need for more reliable regulatory processes and better market access to promote exports of its pharmaceutical products to Brazil. The Commerce Ministry said on Monday that this issue figured prominently in the eighth meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism (TMM) held in BrasÃlia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal participated in the meeting from the Indian side. During the talks between the two countries, progress was made towards facilitating access to the Brazilian market for Indian pharmaceutical products.
Emphasis on increasing market access of medicines in Brazil
According to the Commerce Ministry, India stressed the need for more reliable regulatory processes and increased market access for pharmaceutical products in Brazil.
India believes that its affordable and quality medicines can contribute to efforts for more accessible healthcare services in Brazil.
During the meeting, the progress made towards facilitating market access for Indian pharmaceutical products was also considered important.
Preparation to expand the scope of India-Mercosur trade agreement
India and Brazil also agreed to quickly finalize the Terms of Reference for initiating negotiations to expand the existing trade agreement.
This agreement is between India and South American trade group Mercosur. Mercosur includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) came into force on 1 June 2009. At present its scope is limited and it covers only 450 duty items i.e. products.
Now both sides are working towards expanding and modernizing this agreement to turn it into a more comprehensive trade agreement.
India-Mercosur trade reached $20.84 billion
The Commerce Ministry said that there is considerable scope for expansion and modernization of the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement.
Bilateral trade between India and Mercosur to reach $20.84 billion in the year 2025. In view of this, both sides have agreed to soon finalize the terms of reference that determine the scope and objectives of the talks.
Target of 30 billion dollar trade by 2030
Trade relations between India and Brazil are also continuously increasing. Bilateral trade between the two countries will reach $15.07 billion in the year 2025-26.
Both the countries have set a target of increasing this trade to 30 billion dollars by 2030.
Better market access and expansion of trade agreements in the pharmaceutical sector can play an important role in achieving this goal.
What will be the benefit to the common people?
India is among the largest producers and exporters of medicines in the world. In such a situation, if the regulatory process for Indian medicines in other countries becomes easier and more reliable, then the market access there can increase for Indian pharmaceutical companies.
Its broader benefit could be that the availability of affordable and quality Indian medicines can reach more people. The Government of India says that this can strengthen efforts to ensure availability of affordable and good quality medicines and more accessible health services.
That is, this matter is not limited only to increasing trade between two countries, but is also related to the availability of medicines and access to health services.
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