GRODNO, 7 March (BelTA) – A Belarus-India joint venture was solemnly commissioned in Skidel near Grodno on 7 March. The new company, Novalok, was founded by Belmedpreparaty and Indian pharmaceutical company Lok-Beta Pharmaceuticals (I) Pvt. Ltd. The investment project is estimated at over $3.5 million. The new production facility is located at the premises of Belmedpreparaty.
“This is new high-tech production of brand new medicines. Among them are medications that are broadly used in new protocols to treat such challenging diseases as AIDS, tuberculosis, and diabetes,” Belarus' Healthcare Minister Valery Malashko said.
In his words, the new company created 70 new jobs. Novalok will grow bigger with time. There are plans to sign another investment agreement to the tune of over $1.5 million. This document will provide for manufacturing pharmaceutical substances that can be used by other similar companies in Belarus.
Novalok's products will be sold on the domestic market and abroad. Up to 50% of the output is to be exported by the year 2021.
Taking part in the opening ceremony was Chairman of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Myasnikovich. He called pharmaceutics one of the most promising avenues of cooperation between Belarus and India. “India is one of the world's leading producers of medicines; therefore we are actively working on starting new joint companies. Although Belarus is expanding domestic production of medicines, it still has to import a substantial amount of drugs. Establishment of new pharmaceutical companies will not only help cut down on import, but will also enable us to boost export. This will also contribute to the country's economic growth and creation of high-tech jobs. Besides, domestically made drugs will cost less than imported medicines,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said. He informed that two more pharmaceutical companies with Indian capital are to be set up in Minsk.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Belarus Sangeeta Bahadur noted that the opening of the new production facility was a good example of robust development of bilateral cooperation. Progress can be observed in all the areas. For example, offices of Belarusian mining and oil processing companies are actively working on the Indian market. The two countries have plans to launch direct flights and produce a joint movie – a director from Bollywood has already arrived in Minsk for this purpose.
Managing Director of Lok-Beta Pharmaceuticals (I) Pvt. Ltd Alok Kumar praised the comfortable investment climate in Belarus. It was the reason why the company in Skidel came into being. “One of the major tasks is to start a project that will benefit people and meet people's needs for affordable drugs,” he emphasized.
