Algiers to host Algerian-American Forum on Pharmaceutical Industry on June 8 and 9

Algérie Presse Service (APS) – June 2, 2011

An Algerian-American forum on the pharmaceutical industry and medical and hospital equipment will convene in Algiers on June 8 and 9, a source at the Embassy of Algeria in Washington said Thursday June 2, 2011.

Organized jointly by the Embassy of Algeria and the US-Algeria Business Council (USABC) with the objective of promoting the national pharmaceutical and medical sector, the two-day meeting reflects the willingness of the Algerian government to promote new medical technologies with regards to medicine and medical equipment, supplies and innovative services intended for national health facilities.

The medical forum will offer "leaders and professionals of the health sector a real opportunity to meet leading American laboratories and entrepreneurs active in the health sector and to work with them towards concluding supply and partnership contracts," said the same source.

This event will be attended by over 200 participants, including about thirty American firms representing various laboratories and corporations from the sector, namely Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Ariane Corporation, Pharma, MAGEN, Raytheon Professional Services, Deloitte and Janssen Cilag. With over a billion dollars in annual imports of pharmaceutical products, Algeria's new policy on pharmaceuticals aims to reduce its import expenditures by developing the sector at the national level.

Additionally to seeking to develop partnerships with foreign laboratories, the Algerian government has invested 17 billion Algerian Dinars in the national corporation SAIDAL to help double its production over the next few years, with the ultimate objective of reducing the import volume and increasing its share of satisfaction of the nation's needs in that area, which currently stands at 37%, the same source indicated.

The medical and pharmaceutical forum will be meeting less than two weeks after a trade mission of about 30 members of the U.S. business community made a six-day (May 22-27) visit in Oran and Algiers. Over the past few years, the level of trade relations between Algeria and the United States has reached a significant level, further strengthened by the ever-increasing number of visits to Algeria made by members of the U.S. business community and by the volume of the bilateral trade exchanges.

In 2010, U.S. business delegations visited Algiers on three occasions seeking investment opportunities and given greater impetus to their actions in favor of a mutually beneficial objective.

The same year, the United States remained Algeria's first customer with $13.7 billion in Algerian exports to the U.S. (24% of Algeria's global exports), compared to $9.26 billion in 2009 (21.2%). On the other hand, in 2010, the U.S. was Algeria's 6th supplier with $2.1 billion, representing a trade surplus of $11 billion for Algeria.