'Indian private sector expertise can contribute largely to global health'

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: The UK Secretary of State for International Development and a Cabinet minister in Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet, Douglas Alexander, was on an official visit to India to strengthen UK-India development partnership. He was scheduled

to meet commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, science and technology minister Kapil Sibal and finance minister P Chidambaram. Alexander announced UK’s intent to work with Clinton Foundation to help Indian pharmaceutical companies produce cheaper drugs for malaria and AIDS in India and Africa. The programme will provide technical support to Indian companies in producing and registering new treatments for AIDS and malaria, and negotiate affordable prices for the drugs. Alexander spoke to Soma Das of FE on how the UK and India plan to take their partnership forward.

Which are the specific sectors apart from healthcare and pharma that would see intensified collaborations between India and UK in future? What is the roadmap you have in mind to take these collaborations forward?

We are working towards delivering three overarching objectives— better basic services (education and health), inclusive growth (improving access to finance and rural livelihoods) and governance reform to ensure the government can deliver these services. These programmes are developed in partnership with the Government of India and contribute to the implementation of the government’s 11th Five Year Plan. The UK launched its new seven-year Country Assistance Plan in June 2008. This sets out our priorities in supporting the Government of India’s development plans.

Are there learnings that UK is studying from Indian experiences in any specific sector?

India has plenty of experience that is of great interest around the world, including in the UK. Indian expertise in producing low cost generic drugs is a particular example of how the Indian private sector can contribute to global health.

Research and technology are other areas where India is rapidly becoming a global leader— we are keen to continue to explore ways to facilitate the transfer of Indian ideas and expertise to support other countries achieve development and growth objectives.

What are the possible ways that India and UK can get together to address challenges thrown by the current liquidity crunch and global financial crisis?

The UK takes over the chair of the G20 group in January and we are committed to taking forward the agreements made last weekend. This will only be possible with continued strong collaboration between the UK and India, along with other G20 countries. The G20 Leaders meeting in Washington last weekend outlined an action plan with four key steps: the reform of financial supervision in line with key principles such as transparency and integrity; globally coordinated action on economic stimulation through fiscal and monetary measures; a 12-month moratorium on protectionist trade measures; a commitment to consider in detail the reform of international institutions such as the IMF at a follow-up summit.

Which are the other countries in the Indian subcontinent that DFID is actively engaging with and broadly in which sectors?

Two-thirds of the world’s poorest people live in Asia and 800 million people live on less than a dollar a day. We work across the sub-continent to make sure that more poor people have access to basic services, such as health and education.

We work in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan with a small programme in Sri Lanka. The exact nature of our engagement in each country depends largely on the Governments priorities. For example, in Bangladesh there is significant potential for growth but around 40% of the population remains poor. Our programmes in Bangladesh aim to address the major obstacles to growth in the country - weak governance, inadequate infrastructure, and difficult investment processes. Furthermore we need to find ways to protect people from the worsening impacts of climate change.

What will the priority areas to be touched upon, highlight points of this visit of yours and who are the key people you plan to meet in India during this visit?

During my visit to India I have met senior ministers and officials in New Delhi to consider how India is addressing development challenges. I met new partners who are leading India’s contribution to global public goods such as climate change and the supply of low cost AIDS drugs. I have travelled to Bihar to launch a new partnership with the Government of Bihar, starting with a major governance programme. In Bihar I also had the chance to meet rural villagers and communities whose stories of poverty and destitution are a real indication of the serious development challenges remaining in India.

Where does India stand in the future plans of Department for International Development, UK and in which way do you see India participating and getting more involved with the department?