Big boost for Ayush market! Over Rs 590 crores trade interest generated at '1st SCO Conference' on Traditional Medicine

New Delhi, Mar 6: In a significant success of the first SCO Conference on traditional medicine, more than Rs 590 crores were generated after intense meetings among buyers and sellers at the conference. The first 'SCO B2B Conference and Expo on Traditional Medicine' created a platform for buyers and sellers from different countries to explore trade potential to serve the needs of the people.

 

This first-of-its-kind conference & Expo under the SCO initiative was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on 2nd March 2023 at Guwahati, Assam. More than 150 delegates from 17 countries attended the two-day conference and four-day Expo.

 

Addressing the occasion, Union Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal said, "While the scope of trade in the Ayush market remains buoyant, the event helped expand its horizon to a wider international audience with a noble aim to provide an enriched quality of life with the help of traditional medicine. This is a huge shot in the arm for the Indian Ayush market as this event provided the platform to further the trade potential among the SCO member states for improving the quality of lives of people."

 

More than 56 exhibitors - who participated in the Expo - and buyers from 19 countries discussed and expressed their interest in trade in traditional medicine. The trade interest of Rs 590 crores was received in the B2B meetings from companies like Damaira Pharma, AIMIL Global, Herbal Strategi Homecare, Almaty, Dindayal Industries, Fidalgo Healthcare, and many more. The trade interest was received across product categories like Ayurvedic gels & oils, capsules, Ayurvedic hair remedy products, nutraceuticals, Ayurvedic home care, and Hygiene & Veterinary products. The industry received as many as 9 Letters of Intent (LOIs).

 

Notably, India assumed the Presidency of the SCO Council of Heads of State for the year 2023 on September 17 at Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Indian PM Narendra Modi at the SCO summit at Samarkand remarked that India would take the initiative for a new SCO Expert Working Group on Traditional Medicine.

 

Over to that the release further detailed that the Ministry of Ayush has been working on various initiatives under the SCO mandate. Earlier, in February this year, a virtual conference of experts and practitioners of traditional medicine was held where members from 25 countries participated.

 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), or Shanghai Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance of an eight-member multilateral organization, established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, China. SCO includes 8 member states, 3 observers, and 14 dialogue partner countries. India was granted Observer status at the July 2005 Astana Summit and the status of a full member 12 years later on June 9, 2017, at the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.