Economic and trade relations between India and Ireland growing smoothly; 25.92% increase over the previous year

The India Director, IDA Ireland, Tanaz Buhariwalla says that India and Ireland are having a healthy relationship when it comes to trade and economy. In an interview with Lakshmipriya Nair, Tanaz Buhariwalla shares about this relation between the two nations.

She said that from January to December, 2019 the bilateral trade between India and Ireland was €1.116 and this is recorded as the highest turnover between any two countries.

Even at the wake of Covid-19 there are numerous opportunities open up between India and Ireland, she said. “Most of these are in the life sciences and technology sectors.  With the disruption to their supply chain affecting Indian companies, the importance of having a presence in Europe to ensure the security of supply in the future is now in focus. We are in discussion with a number of them who are evaluating the option of setting up a presence in Ireland.” Indian companies which offer digital products and transformation projects for clients are also include in the list.

She said that in a post-Brexit world, Ireland remains the only English-speaking country in the EU, with a supportive and pro-business government. The Irish government’s backs individuals and businesses in the form of unemployment payment to those who had lost jobs, wage subsidies for employers and low-interest credits for micro-businesses were also availed by Indian companies, professionals and students in Ireland.

“Irish companies from sectors such as life sciences, medtech, diary, engineering especially hi-tech hardware, SAAS companies and fintech and edtech companies are also looking at entering and servicing the Indian market. There are over 110 Irish companies in India, including the Kerry Group, Taoglas, ICON, and Glanbia.” She added while speaking about the opportunities between India and Ireland during the Covid period.

She also spoke about the healthcare and pharma sectors where both the nations can work together hand in hand. By pointing out the opportunities and demand for skilled healthcare workers in Ireland, she said that on the early days of the pandemic, Indian PM Narendra Modi and then Irish PM, Leo Varadkar discussed about the joined collaborations in the life science sector.

It was then Varadkar praised the efforts of Indian Nurses and Doctors in the Irish healthcare sector. According to the Nursing and Midwifery Board data (2018-19), over 6,000 Indian nurses are registered in Ireland, which is about nine per cent of the total nurses in the country. “Apart from this, there are likely 250 senior medical consultants and around 400-500 junior doctors in Ireland from India. A good number of these work as frontline staff in various establishments throughout Ireland,” Tanaz Buhariwalla said.

She also mentioned that Ireland is a perfect place for biopharma and medtech companies who look forward to move up the value chain by including future technology.

IDA Ireland in India has a vital role in the European investment journey of many Indian origin companies like the TCS, Infosys, Wipro, TATA motors, etc. right now nearly 70 Indian companies have marked their presence in Ireland and likely there are around 110 Irish companies in India as well.

“IDA Ireland closely engages with Indian companies to understand their business plans for Europe and we work with them on their journey to growth in Europe through a successful presence in Ireland,” she said.

“Ireland leads in the life sciences sector, with all leading global pharma and medtech companies having a large presence in Ireland. The Indian companies include Wockhardt, Sahajanand Medical Technologies, Unichem, Intas, Bio-tech Vision Care and many others in areas ranging from manufacturing to warehousing and distribution and R&D.”

In the interview she also talked about Ireland being the destination for Indian companies who looks forward to flourish themselves in the EU market and also the effect of the Brexit. She said that Ireland is one of the most globalized countries in the world, this can be considered as a fact because most of the multinational companies have their Global or European head offices in Ireland. “These are for reasons of its membership of the EU, availability of highly skilled workforce, common law, the prevalence of English language, low 12.5 per cent corporate tax and pro-enterprise government policy,” she said.

“With its strategic positioning, Ireland is the next ‘speak-to country’ for India, post-Brexit, for leveraging its business interests in the EU institutional platforms. There exists a strong Double Taxation Treaty between the two countries and direct flights between main cities of the two countries are in the pipeline.”

“If no legislation is passed and no agreement is reached, the life sciences industry will face something akin to a “no-deal” Brexit scenario affecting free movement of goods and people.  Present indications hint at exactly such a scenario, at a hard, no-deal Brexit……… In this scenario, Ireland becomes the preferred option for both, regulated and non-regulated sectors looking to service the EU and US,” she said.

Many Indian bio and pharma companies look forward to explore Ireland, this is because Ireland is amongst the world’s largest net exporter of pharma products and a globally recognized center of excellence in pharma and medtech.

“It is home to 10 of the world’s top 10 pharma companies that include Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Merck & Co, J&J, GSK, Gilead, Abbvie and Amgen,” she said.

Ireland is also at the forefront of developments in the rapidly evolving biological treatment sector including advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) like cell therapy, gene therapy, antibody-drug conjugates and complex mAbs.

The quality of Ireland is excellent in terms of compliance with statutory and quality regulations. “Mutual Recognition Agreement between the US and the EU including Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority i.e. HPRA, permits in most cases, Irish manufacturing site with a HPRA clearance to sell their products in the US. This gives an added incentive to generic and biosimilar companies to manufacture their product in Ireland.” She added.

“Indian life science companies that are moving up the value chain in biotech research and hi-tech sophisticated medtech product development can find a well-developed ecosystem with stable regulatory environment, an opportunity to rub shoulders with the large multinationals and most important, a gateway to Europe and other international markets.” She said.

Looking into all these aspects, Tanaz Buhariwalla is happy with IDAs performance in India as well as in Ireland and also believes that the bond between both the countries will go strong. With a mutual understanding, a lot of benefits are happening for both Ireland and India.