Health Ministry Signs MoU with Government of Kuwait on Medical Cooperation

The Union Health Secretary Shri P.K. Pradhan on behalf of Government of India signed an MoU on April 23 with the State of Kuwait on Medical Cooperation. Dr. Ibrahim Alabdelhadi signed the MoU on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Government of Kuwait.

Indian doctors and nurses are employed in large numbers in Kuwaiti hospitals. Recognising the long standing and friendly cooperation and common desire to strengthen cooperation between the two countries and desiring to lay down institutional framework for developing medical cooperation between the two countries, the MoU signed on April 23 inter alia provides for : degree & other qualifications issued by Institutions in respect of medicine (including traditional medicine), nursing, medical technicians & paramedical recognized by Government Bodies will be treated at par by the Ministry of Health of Kuwait for appropriate job placements & benefits; appropriate training to Kuwait doctors in centers of excellence in the field of traditional and modern medicine and allied health specialities in India; provisions for treatment of Kuwaiti patients in the approved specialized Indian hospitals and to encourage medical tourism; and set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) to further elaborate the details of cooperation and to oversee the implementation of this MoU. The JWG will meet not more than once a year or as agreed upon.

India, Switzerland sign pact on financial dialogue

India and Switzerland have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that would help foster financial dialogue between the two countries.

The MoU was signed by Ms Chitra Narayanan, Indian Ambassador to Switzerland and Mr Michael Ambuhl, Swiss Department of Finance Secretary, in Berne in Switzerland in the presence of President of India, Ms Pratibha Devisingh Patil, and her Swiss counterpart, Ms Micheline Calmy-Rey.

Through this financial dialogue, the Swiss and Indian authorities will establish regular and privileged contacts in the financial sector to identify common interests and to work together to achieve them, a Swiss Government statement said. The objective of the financial dialogue is to strengthen and intensify cooperation between Switzerland and India in the financial sector.

“The financial dialogue will allow the partner countries to coordinate their positions and work together with organisations and international forums to develop their cooperation in terms of policies and financial market regulation and to strengthen their diagnostic capabilities regarding international macroeconomic developments,” the statement added.

It also said that Switzerland's financial centre was characterised by its openness and its internationalism. “Fostering financial dialogue with important emerging economies will contribute to implementing the strategy of the Federal Council in terms of financial market policy,” the statement said.