Substantive proposals for cooperation were announced during a meeting of the heads of Austrian companies with representatives of Turkmen government agencies, mass media and entrepreneurship. The talks, organized by the Austrian-Turkmen Society with the assistance of the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Vienna, were held on Tuesday in an online format.
The most relevant proposals were put forward in the “medical” part of the discussions, where the CEOs and owners of such well-known pharmaceutical companies as Sigmapharm and DiproMed participated.
Both leading European manufacturers of medical products offered not only services as a supplier, but also the transfer of their extensive know-how.
The main competence of Sigmapharm, laid down by its founder, who collaborated with NASA, is sterile and non-sterile sprays, drops and other liquid preparations in the “ear-nose-throat” segment. The company has already been furnishing the Main Pharmacy Department of Turkmenistan with 5 types of medicines registered by the country’s Ministry of Health.
The head of Sigmapharm, Bernhard Wittmann, drew attention to the product called “Coldamaris”, informing that the effectiveness of this nasal spray in suppressing the new coronavirus has now been proven, and research is currently being conducted in the clinics of Austria to develop an official recommendation for its use in the fight against the pandemic.
He explained that the effect of the drug is based on the fact that it creates a physical barrier to the virus penetration into the body, and added that now it is in very high demand and its production is growing against this background.
In the same vein, the company presented vitamin D3, the antibiotic Tyrothricin, which can destroy most known infections, and some other medicines.
The DiproMed company, which specializes in various short-term tests (from the presence of prohibited substances and alcohol in the body to the determination of pregnancy and infections, diseases of the cardiovascular system), began deliveries to Turkmenistan in early 2020.
According to its owner, Christian Eder, the company guarantees a 100% result of mobile diagnostics of human health using its methods, which have an original chemical formulation and international certification.
Now, DiproMed is focused on ways to detect the COVID-19 antigen and antibodies, in addition, there are successful developments in the detection of many other disorders of the human body, including stomach diseases.
In general, the range of short-term analyses is quite large, and the company offers to apply its impressive experience in creating a joint production in Turkmenistan.
In addition to the tests, DiproMed also produces hygiene products, PPE for medical personnel, surgical masks, the FFP2 class professional respirators, which are now becoming mandatory to wear in public transport and when visiting shops in some parts of Europe.
At the end of the presentation, Christian Eder, who, like Sigmapharm CEO Bernhard Wittmann, is a member of the board of the Austrian-Turkmen Society, added a lyrical note, and told how much he wants to visit Ashgabat again, which he has visited many times, and expressed hope that this will soon become possible.
The Austrian-Turkmen Society is known for its major cultural projects, including concerts of opera stars and Viennese balls in Ashgabat, the unique musical group in Europe the joint symphony orchestra “Galkynysh”. The Society also publishes a print magazine of the same name and maintains its website in three languages.
And its head, Dr. Neda Berger, is, among other things, an honorary adviser to the Media-Turkmen news agency with accreditation in the press service of the Chancellor of Austria.
The Society also aims to create conditions for expanding business cooperation between Turkmenistan and Austria. And today’s meeting was almost entirely devoted to discussing issues and opportunities for trade and economic cooperation, business contacts.
Along with the heads of departments responsible for international activities, various departments of Turkmenistan, the event was attended by the country’s Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, TMT Consulting Group company and private construction companies Ojar Asia and Cheper Gurlushyk.
What other topics and proposals have been discussed at today’s meeting, we will tell in a subsequent publication.
Gulya ROZYEVA