Munich/Rawalpindi – Pakistan in the World -As the coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, especially in Asia and Europe, Pakistan is tackling the virus with vivid and effective force.
17 March 2020,Tuesday’s signing of a groundbreaking interdisciplinary Pakistani-German Document of Understanding (DoU) on cooperation falls under this premise of acting, not talking: a multi-pronged strategy to play an effective role in strengthening the overall national healthcare service delivery system and advance medical research in accordance with the vision of the Prime Minister to make medical care accessible and affordable to all, as stated by the Vice Chancellor of NUMS, Lt Gen Syed Muhammad Imran Majeed, HI (M), (Retd) at the signing ceremony.
Pakistan’s number one medical provider, the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), and three German companies – Siemens Healthineers (leading global healthcare company), It’s a Deal (developer of specific investment vehicles and products) and POWERGROUP (global strategy consultancy on business design concepts and market intelligence) – have signed a DoU – due to the coronoa virus travel restrictions via skype conference – which will enhance the medical infrastructure of Pakistan in the months to come. Within their innovative joint project “Health for the Future”, medical equipment will be purchased and integrated into clinics of the NUMS network.
“We wanted to set up an investment vehicle that allows investors to support projects with social impact, without losing its economic viability and feasibility”, It’s a Deal-cofounder and CEO Philomena Poetis explains.
Chief Financial Officer and co-founder Peter Follak: “This innovative investment vehicle is tailored to the needs of the project. It is based on many years of experience with international capital market instruments and subject to the strict requirements of the German Capital Investment Code.”
But the cooperation does not end here, as General Imran Majeed, Vice Chancellor of NUMS, elaborates: “The total demand of hospital beds in Pakistan must be significantly increased in a very short period of time. Therefore, NUMS has been working on a Medical City project in Islamabad I-17 with the aim to increase bed-capacity at a minimum of 4.000 beds. The DoU partners have declared their willingness to support NUMS by structuring and building new investment vehicles and combine market strategies to finance these concepts on an international standard.”
Khurram Jameel,managing director and CEO, Siemens Healthcare(Pvt) Ltd. commented, “It is in many ways a giant leap for healthcare in Pakistan where we welcome German investors to invest with NUMS in developing state of the art healthcare facilities in the country”.
Last but not least, this powerful alliance will work on a concept to implement vocational training of Pakistani medical staff based on German principles and experience in close cooperation with German authorities.
“Not only are we able to combine all of our interdisciplinary strength. POWERGROUP as project coordinator and strategy expert in the fields of market analysis and entry will provide every aspect of this venture, which will lead to imminent success for all participants”, Penelope Poetis, Chief Operating Officer of POWERGROUP, declares.
The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Pakistan, Bernhard Schlagheckwhile appreciating NUMS for taking dynamic initiatives in the health sector hoped that its collaboration with the leading German institutions would assist NUMS in achieving its goals and would have a benefiting broad-based socio economic impact within the country and beyond.
Honorary Consul Dr. Pantelis Poetis, who has been supporting Pakistani-German economic projects for the last decade, stated at the signing ceremony this Tuesday: “After encouraging the German-Pakistani economic ties as Honorary Consul for the last eleven years, I am amazed by the magnitude and importance of this cooperation and proud of what we have achieved so far. I cannot think of a better team of experts and partners, who can make a joint impact on Pakistan’s medical infrastructure and research right at this moment. We don’t talk, we act!”
