Enhancing people-to-people contacts: India, Brunei sign pacts on health, sports

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Looking to step up economic ties and people-to-people contacts, India an Brunei, the energy-rich Southeast Asian nation, signed two pacts on promoting sports and youth exchanges and enhanced cooperation in health sector. The two pacts were signed after wide-ranging talks between India’s Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Brunei’s Crown Prince in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei on February 2. . India will also operationalize the e-visa facility for Brunei nationals, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur last year, by March, said Mr Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East) in India’s ministry of external affairs. Enhancing health cooperation will be a major focus area of growth in India-Brunei relations. The pact outlines a broad framework of bolstering health cooperation by pooling technical, scientific, financial and human resources and to upgrade the health care, medical education, research between the two countries. The specific identified for bilateral cooperation include:  exchange of doctors, other professionals and experts;  exchange of information on health; medical and health research development; regulations of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and cosmetics and to promote business development in these areas; and health promotion and disease prevention. The pact on youth and sports affairs provides a framework for exchanges of sports persons and sports teams and  to facilitate the exchange of expertise in coaching, sports talent identification, sports management and administration and exchange of information in the field of youth affairs.