Strengthening an established cooperation
The summit, which brought together CEOs, leading entrepreneurs, and academics, coincided with an official visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – the first visit to Norway by an Indian prime minister since 1983.
He was greeted by Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
In a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Gahr Støre it was decided that the two countries would strengthen their cooperation on several fronts.
Among these are a green strategic partnership focusing on areas such as climate change, biodiversity and energy related issues; health cooperation; water purification; the oceans; space research and additional business agreements.
A spotlight on healthcare from two complementary angles
The summit dedicated a session to healthcare, titled “Health Innovation for All: Advancing Medtech and Healthcare Solutions.”
INN University’s Prof Rafi Ahmad participated in the panel titled “Advancing our understanding of antimicrobial resistance: Recent breakthroughs and future pathways for mitigation.”
“The panel was one of the highlights of the event and was chaired by Jan Bjaalie from the University of Oslo. The panel featured distinguished experts Bjørn Klem (Adjutec Pharma AS), Tone Tønjum (University of Oslo), and Ishaan Gupta (IIT Delhi), who shared insights into the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the urgent need for innovative solutions,” says Prof Ahmad
The panel offered a unique juxtaposition of points of view brought from Norway and from India, the joining of which could lead to important innovations in this field.
“The discussions examined the entire innovation pathway – from fundamental research and technology development to implementation in healthcare systems. Participants explored how differing societal, regulatory, and healthcare frameworks in Norway and India shape these processes and identified opportunities to accelerate innovation through international collaboration. The panel also highlighted successful examples of research translation and underscored how the complementary strengths of the two countries – including Norway’s expertise in precision technologies and India’s capacity for large-scale implementation – can drive impactful advances in healthcare,” tells Prof Ahmad to inn.no.
According to him, the summit demonstrated the significant potential for strengthening Norway-India cooperation in antimicrobial resistance, healthcare innovation, diagnostics, and translational research.
“By fostering dialogue and building new partnerships, the event laid the groundwork for future collaborative initiatives to improve global health outcomes and address some of the most pressing healthcare challenges of our time.”
The B3 research group
Prof Ahmad is the leader of the strategic research group B3 – Bioinformatics, Biodiscovery & Biorefinery at INN University.
The research group aims to help solve societal and industry challenges relevant to the Inland region of Norway, as well as internationally.
“One of the key priorities of the B3 Research Group is the development of rapid, scalable, and user-friendly diagnostic solutions for life-threatening infections and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The group's research focuses on developing innovative diagnostic technologies that can help save lives while remaining affordable and accessible in resource-limited settings,” says Ahamd.
The group has been collaborating with several institutes in India for a decade, and thus Prof Ahmad was a natural choice as a panellist.
These collaborations include leading research institutions and clinical partners such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, and the Indian Council of Medical Research.
“These partnerships have enabled the translation of cutting-edge research into solutions addressing critical global health challenges. The research group currently leads two major projects funded by the Research Council of Norway: OH-AMR-Diag and UTI-Diag. In addition, B3 is a partner in the HK-dir-funded Photonics4Life”, says Ahmad.