An agreement has been signed between India and the African Union to initiate and strengthen the cooperation in the health sector in a structured and organised manner by establishing an India-Africa health sciences collaborative platform, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The MEA, in a statement, said that in order to carry forward the strategic vision of India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) III through a structured and concrete partnership in the health sector, the MEA partnered with Indian Council of Medical Research and had jointly organised the first India-Africa Health Sciences Meet in 2016 in New Delhi.

The MoU will pave the way for the cooperation in the areas of research and development, capacity building, health services, pharmaceutical trade and manufacturing capabilities for drugs and diagnostics, it said.

The MEA said it has offered full support for the implementation of the agreement. It said, "Following the deliberations in this meet, ICMR had taken up the mandate to initiate and strengthen the cooperation in the health sector in a structured and organised manner by establishing an India-Africa Health Sciences Collaborative Platform (IAHSP). The signed MoU aims to formalise this partnership by establishing a framework.”