Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandviya met the UK’s Secretary of State for Health and social care, Steve Barclay, on the sidelines of the G20 Health Ministers meeting, on Thursday.

Taking to his official handle on X, formerly Twitter, the minister said that the meeting was aimed to discuss collaboration in Telemedicine services to Develop an India-UK Digital Health Partnership.

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He said, “Productive meeting with @SteveBarclay, Secretary of State for Health & Social Care of the UK. India & the UK are committed to a partnership that delivers for both countries. Discussed collaboration in Telemedicine services to Develop an India-UK Digital Health Partnership.”

The UK leader, too, posted about his meeting with the Union Health Minister, saying, “A pleasure to meet with my counterpart in India, Dr @MansukhMandviya, before the @G20org Health Ministers Meeting begins. We discussed our countries’ collaboration on shared healthcare challenges, like #AntimicrobialResistance, and how to best harness digital innovation.”

The UK secretary is in India for the G20 Health Ministers meeting which got underway on Thursday in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar.

The three-day meeting will culminate on August 19.

India assumed the presidency of the G20 on 1 December 2022 and is currently part of the G20 Troika comprising Indonesia, India and Brazil.

The focus of the G20 Health Minister’s Meeting will be on the three key priorities of the G20 Health Track, including health emergencies prevention, preparedness and response with a focus on anti-microbial resistance and One Health framework; Strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics); and Digital Health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery.

Besides the G20 Deputies Meeting on 17 August 2023 and G20 Health Minister’s Meeting on 18–19, there will be four side events including One Earth One Health Advantage Health Care – India 2023; WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit; India MedTech Expo 2023; and ‘Sustain, Accelerate and Innovate to End TB in South-East Asia Region’ Conference.

A Joint Finance–Health Ministers’ Meeting will also be held on August 19, 2023, as a focus event of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting. “There will also be combined sessions of G20 and side events during the course of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting,” Lav Agarwal, additional secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said, as he briefed media ahead of the three days event starting from tomorrow at Gandhinagar.