RANGOON — A forum to promote medical equipment manufactured by French firms was held in Rangoon on Wednesday for the first time in 20 years.
The France-Myanmar Healthcare Forum, organized by the French Agency for International Business Development (UBIFRANCE), brought together around 150 businesspeople and healthcare professionals from both countries for a series of presentations and discussions.
Claire Camdessus, UBIFRANCE’s director for Burma, Thailand and Laos, said the one-day forum aimed to introduce French health-care technology to the Burmese market.
“We know there’s a lot of reform going on and a lot of opportunities in Myanmar, and we want our French companies to be a part of this development,” she said.
Six French companies—Tangram & Maes Architectes, Oxy Plus Technologies, Legrand, Amplitude, Spineway and IGNA-Institute Genetique Nantes Atlantique—participated in the event.
Also represented were Burma’s ministries of health, home affairs and defense and the Myanmar Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment Entrepreneurs Association. Around 90 Burmese entrepreneurs from 40 healthcare-related companies, including private hospitals, also took part.
The French delegation is also expected to visit Rangoon General Hospital, Parami General Hospital and Victoria Hospital on Thursday.
“Our companies’ delegation will also visit hospitals in Yangon so they can choose how they can approach this market,” said Camdessus.
France restored trade relations with Burma early last year, after years of economic sanctions directed at the country’s former military regime.
The French embassy’s trade commission hosted similar forums on water, electricity and livestock last year after France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened an office in Rangoon.
