India’s exports of medical devices to Russia can be tripled in the next five years through collaborative efforts by both countries, according to the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD).

The push to shore up Indian medical device exports to Russia comes after players from both countries recently held an online meeting to explore opportunities in the areas of manufacturing and marketing life-saving medical equipment and devices.

“They stressed the need for a dynamic and multifaceted economic engagement, guided by shared interests and a commitment to further deepen bilateral cooperation. The two organisations will contribute in their own humble manner in line with that objective,” AiMeD said in an official statement.

The online event was attended by over 70 Indian manufacturers and exporters alongside some key Russian investors.

Russia currently does not feature in the top five countries that import medical devices from India.

Speaking on the state of India’s medical device exports to Russia, Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator at AiMeD, said that medical device exports to Russia currently stood at Rs 625.68 crore (around $75 million) in FY 2022-23.

“This figure can possibly increase to Rs 2,000 crore (around $239 million) in the next five years if there is a coordinated strategy between both countries and regulatory approvals are fast-tracked,” he said.

The region has seen an increased focus in recent years, with Russia being among the top destinations of India’s medical device exports in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.

According to a report by the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC), Russia accounts for 60 per cent of India’s medical device exports in the CIS region.

“Given the enormous opportunities in the medical device industry for multifaceted bilateral engagements, experts from India and Russia have vouched for faster efforts to give a boost to collaborations and make the most of emerging opportunities in the areas of manufacturing and marketing life-saving medical equipment and devices,” the body said.

Keeping this in mind, AiMeD had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for the Development of Russia-India Strategic Partnership (DRISP) last year.

“There is a huge scope for partnerships between Indian stakeholders and their Russian counterparts in the field of the medical device industry. DRISP and AiMeD have joined hands to accelerate the pace of bilateral engagements,” he said.

“We are now moving ahead towards strengthening the bilateral relations through collaborative efforts, including demanding the fast-tracking of regulatory processes and making new partnerships in areas of manufacturing and marketing of medical devices between the two countries,” the body added.

First Published: Apr 22 2024 | 8:07 PM IST