Cooperation with Royal Philips was discussed in the Netherlands
On February 19-20, 2024, the Vice Minister of Health of Kazakhstan, Zhandos Burkitbaev, visited the Netherlands as part of an invitation from the transnational company Royal Philips.
For reference: today Royal Philips occupies about 20% of the global market for the production of medical equipment.
On the first day of the visit, the Kazakh side got acquainted in more detail with the activities of the Company and the process of development and production of advanced medical equipment in their Innovation Center in Best.
During the negotiations, the Company noted its readiness to expand cooperation with Kazakhstan, including on the modernization of rural medicine, the development of ultrasound diagnostics, increasing the efficiency of obstetric and gynecological care, improving cardiology and cardiac surgery services, digitalization of healthcare and other areas. Separately, the Company noted the possibility of localizing the production of certain types of medical equipment in Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh side confirmed its readiness to expand cooperation with Royal Philips. Vice Minister of Health Zhandos Burkitbaev noted the dynamic development of the pharmaceutical market in Kazakhstan. Thus, over the past 7 years, the market has doubled and at the end of 2023 amounted to 2.1 billion US dollars. At the same time, the volume of annual investments in the industry increased 6 times and amounted to 31.6 million US dollars. He also emphasized that “Kazakhstan is interested in attracting investments and advanced technologies in healthcare, aimed at improving the efficiency and quality of medical services. To achieve this, the necessary conditions are being created to increase the investment attractiveness of the pharmaceutical industry: support measures are provided for investors, and the regulatory framework is being improved. Work is underway to develop domestic pharmaceutical production and attract the world's leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, including companies from BIGPHARMA. Therefore, we intend to intensify bilateral cooperation with the Netherlands in the field of healthcare, including joint production and localization of medical products; exchange of knowledge and skills, acquisition of best practices, as well as participation in joint developments. I would like to assure you of the high interest of Royal Philips entering the Kazakhstan market to implement an investment project"
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the Netherlands, Askar Zhumagaliev, thanked the Company for the fruitful negotiations and high-quality organization of the visit, and also expressed hope for the soon availability of Royal Philips “Made in KZ” medical products. “I am confident that the partnership with Royal Philips will contribute to improving the healthcare system and providing all citizens of the country with access to high-quality medical services,” the Ambassador of Kazakhstan emphasized.
In turn, Royal Philips Vice President Jan-Willem Scheygrond noted, “We are pleased to welcome Vice Minister Zhandos Burkitbaev and colleagues from the Ministry of Health to Philips. Philips’ priority is to strengthen strategic cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan – as a provider of solutions in the field of healthcare technologies and an investor in the Kazakh economy.” In conclusion, Mr. Scheygrond expressed gratitude to the Embassy of Kazakhstan for their support.
The second day of the visit included meetings with the Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, the Netherlands Agency for Enterprise Development RVO, the Erasmus Medical Center, as well as Dutch private companies.
As a result of the meetings, the parties agreed to expand cooperation, including in the implementation of joint projects in Kazakhstan and training of personnel in healthcare.