KARACHI: A Saudi company reported strong interest in its medical products at Pakistan’s largest three-day health exhibition, Health Asia, which concluded on Saturday at the Expo Center in Karachi, bringing together participants from across the world.
Held from October 17 to 19, the event featured over 200 companies from 10 countries, including China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, France and Hungary.
Health Asia, Pakistan’s premier health care and pharmaceutical exhibition, has become the country’s leading platform for introducing the latest innovations in medical technology, products and services since its inception in 2004.
Supported by Pakistan’s Ministry of Health and international medical societies, the event draws key local and global stakeholders, providing significant opportunities for business and collaboration in the health care sector.
Speaking to Arab News, Salman Rashid, Pakistan Business Manager of Saudi Mais, a Riyadh-based supplier of disposable medical devices, noted a significant response from both doctors and local businesses.
“There was good response toward the Saudi products,” he said.
With 20 years of experience in producing medical devices, Rashid emphasized that his company aims to deliver the same high-quality products in Pakistan as it does in Saudi Arabia.
“What we have seen, the doctors who are visiting our booth, the [local] companies which are visiting our booth, they are not looking for the low-quality product. They are also interested to buy the good quality products,” he continued.
Rashid also highlighted the potential for foreign investment in Pakistan’s health care market, which serves a population of 250 million. He also mentioned Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which focuses on localizing production and expanding exports, identifying Pakistan as a key market for Saudi medical companies.
Farhan Anis, Project Director of Health Asia International Exhibition and Conferences, endorsed Rashid’s remarks, saying the Saudi company received a “tremendous response” during its debut at the exhibition.
“We are very glad that the Saudi company is participating in this Health Asia [conference],” he told Arab News. “They are participating for the first time, and they have received [a] tremendous response … in the past three days, and we look forward to partnering with the Saudi government so that we can bring more Saudi companies to Pakistan for collaboration in the health care facilities.”
Everyone knows that Saudi [Arabia] provides absolutely outstanding health care facilities in their country, and they are exporting those things as well,” he added. “We see in different international exhibitions like Arab Heath, the Saudi pavilions, so we would like to have [that] sort of [pavilion] in Pakistan also, in Health Asia, and we hope that [a] major collaboration can be done with Saudi Arabia in the field of health care.”
This year, Health Asia, Anis said, introduced the concept of “Inward Medical Tourism” at the Future Hospital Conference.
“This concept will bring foreign revenue into Pakistan and ultimately attract more private sector investment toward providing high-quality health care facilities in our hospitals,” he continued. “The 3rd annual conference, ‘Boosting Medical Devices,’ was also held at the event, highlighting progress on more than 20 locally developed medical devices.”
In all, the event featured over 20 conferences and seminars, with both foreign and local medical experts sharing the latest medical procedures.
According to a handout, more than 500 exhibitors, including foreign delegates from various countries, participated in Health Asia, which attracted over 50,000 visitors.
