Hyderabad Top Pharma Destination: Joel Reifman

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce(IACC), the principal bilateral chamber committed to the promotion of industrial, economic, business, and commercial activities between the United States of America and India, today held a virtual program to commemorate the 245th Independence Day of the US.

Though America's Independence Day falls on July 4, the IACC celebrated the same a couple of days in advance.

US Consulate General (Hyderabad) Joel Reifman and BJP Foreign Affairs Department chief Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale were the chief guests at the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Reifman said, "The celebrations of Independence Day should be a reminder to those living in democratic nations like India and the USA to celebrate a strong partnership between the two nations. The USA stood with India as we fought together with the pandemic just as India stood with the USA. The two nations cooperate on many fronts such as defence, regional cooperation, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, terrorism, peace-keeping, climate change challenges, science and technology, agriculture, space, trade and foreign education."

"Covid-19 has disrupted global trade and supply chains. It has also thrown open opportunities for increased cooperation and collaborations in several critical sectors. Telangana has played a very significant role in the Indian healthcare sector by giving the nation the first indigenous vaccine which was developed by Bharath Biotech. The vaccine itself is evidence of the deep sense of cooperation between the two countries- it was developed in collaboration with American universities and hospitals. Due to the emphasis on innovation and development, Hyderabad has today emerged as the destination of choice for the life sciences and pharma sectors. The business-friendly policies, ushered in thanks to the commendable job done by my friend K T Rama Rao and the state government, has played a key role," he added.

Chauthaiwale also echoed similar thoughts, and stated, "The India-US relationship is multidimensional. There is hardly any aspect of human endeavour where these two countries have not collaborated. The partnership between our two nations is very strong. In seven years of the Modi government, there were three changes in US leadership - Obama, Trump and now Biden, the new President. Our friendship and partnership even during such changes in leadership remained intact. In fact, it has grown in strength on both bilateral and global issues. Our two nations share common democratic values."