The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I), Kolkata, in collaboration with Mati-Ta Wellness and Hospitality, Chittagong and Apollo Hospital, Kolkata, organised a two-day International Health and Wellness Expo in Chittagong on September 15 and 16.
Healthcare and wellness stakeholders from India, Bangladesh and Malaysia participated in the expo with exhibition stalls and talk shows by doctors and healthcare experts.
MA Latif, Member of Parliament, Bangladesh, was the chief guest. He said, “India’s services in healthcare are
appreciated by people in Bangladesh. Logistics wise, visiting India for treatment is convenient and economical. The hospitals in India are requested to keep a desk for patients from Bangladesh with interpreters for non-Bangla speaking doctors. These services are provided by hospitals in Dubai, Singapore, Thailand or other countries.”
Mahbubul Alam, president, The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Dr Rajeev Ranjan, assistant high commissioner of India in Chittagong, graced the opening session among other dignitaries.
Dr Sangita Reddy, joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group, and Dr Alok Roy, former president, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals, addressed the opening session, on September 15 virtually.
A 21-member delegation visited Bangladesh from India. Leader of the delegation, Arnab Basu, vice-president, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry & advisory leader and partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd, said, “The objective of the expo is to bring together the healthcare service providers of South and South East Asia to not only showcase their services and products to a potential consumer base but also to connect with each other for possible collaborations like Joint Ventures and Exchange Programmes.”
Dr Munal Mahbub, chairman, Mati-ta and senior vice-president, Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry said, “Over 56% people in Bangladesh visit India for treatment. They need to know where to go and whom to contact.”
“This is the first of its kind expo in Bangladesh. Thanks to this initiative of The Bengal Chamber, we are here and engaging with other hospitals in Bangladesh and also with suppliers. We are also learning new things which we may adopt or apply in our work,” said Rana Dasgupta, CEO-Eastern Region, Apollo Hospitals Group.
Health Talks included topics on cardiology, lung diseases, urology, neurosurgery, chronic pancreatitis, cervical cancer, lifestyle modification to prevent non-communicable diseases and also air ambulance services.
A special session was organized on cervical carcinoma which is a growing health concern for women but awareness is yet to be achieved especially in developing countries like India and Bangladesh.
Rupak Barua, group CEO, AMRI Hospitals, said, “Collaborations are important to survive in this volatile environment. This expo should be organized every year so that people of both India and Bangladesh are benefited.”
The exhibitors included mostly hospitals and medical equipment, air ambulance, medical tourism agency, wellness resort, beauty products, digital marketing agencies, digital payment platforms, and health insurance companies.
B2B meetings took place and some collaborations on medical tourism and medical equipment were initiated.
“The Bengal Chamber has been constantly striving to have more exchanges between Chambers of Commerce of its strategic neighbouring countries especially Bangladesh where there are diverse areas of business synergies”, said Arnab Basu, vice-president, The Bengal Chamber.
The Bengal Chamber works closely with The Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata and Chambers of
Commerce in Chittagong and Dhaka (The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chittagong Women
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and others). The Chamber has
facilitated multiple outward and inward business delegations to and from Bangladesh over the past few years. Its major focus was on working together to facilitate B2B and B2G connect between the two countries.