H.E Abdul Rahman bin Mohamed Al Owais, the Minister of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), has recently held a series of virtual and physical meetings with a number of foreign ministers and ambassadors.
The meetings aimed to discuss means of enhancing mutual cooperation exchanging of expertise and experiences in health areas, and emphasize the UAE's keenness to play a pivotal and influential role in supporting the international efforts underway to counter the pandemic, provide safe and effective supplies, treatments, and vaccines, ensure equitable access to them, accelerate the recovery process and support the objectives of healthcare sustainable development.
During the meetings, Al Owais affirmed the UAE’s openness to all international experiences and expertise and its commitment to strengthening international health partnerships, implementing quality and innovative treatments, and optimizing the quality of healthcare services. He affirmed the UAE's interest in keeping up to date with the latest medical innovations and treatments.
Fruitful meetings
H.E Jaan Reinhold, Ambassador of Estonia to the UAE, was the first official to meet with the UAE minister of health.The two sides discussed ways of fostering mutual cooperation in managing health data, as part of the World Health Organization’s project and other global partners to build a global and reliable solution to manage the vaccination campaign.
In another meeting, Al Owais discussed with HE Avni Arifi, Ambassador of Kosovo to the UAE, means of enhancing bilateral relations in the healthcare field.
Al Owais also received a phone call from HE Armindo Daniel Tiago, Minister of Health of Mozambique, during which the two sides agreed on the need to exchange experiences in the Covid-19 vaccine. The Mozambican Minister expressed his country's interest in learning about the UAE's pioneering experience in curbing the spread of the pandemic and the national vaccination program.
In his meeting with H.E Kwon Yongwoo, Ambassador of South Korea to the UAE, Al Owais discussed bilateral cooperation in the health sector, highlighting the need to make the most of the latest health technology solutions.
The UAE minister also met with Shaukat Ali Soudhan, Ambassador of Mauritius to the UAE, to discuss ways of developing the UAE-Mauritius relations, exchanging medical expertise, and enhancing mutual cooperation between health institutions in both countries. Meanwhile, He discussed with Hussain Bajis, Ambassador of Indonesia to the UAE, avenues of health cooperation, especially with regard to mechanisms of limiting the outbreak of Covid-19 in addition to issues related to vaccination and diagnosis.
Bakhtiar Khaderovic Ibrahimov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the UAE, was among those officials who met Al Owais. Both sides highlighted the importance of developing bilateral relations in health care, enhancing cooperation between medical institutions of both countries, and exchanging expertise to confront the "Covid-19" pandemic.
Al Owais also received Zvi Heifetz, Israel's special envoy to the GCC and the accompanying delegation. The meeting touched on ways of strengthening bilateral relations based on the UAE-Israel health cooperation agreement, which will boost cooperation between both countries especially in combating global pandemics, protecting medical data, digital health, artificial intelligence, innovation and personalized medicine. Both sides agreed on the need to exchange expertise in the field of vaccination especially in light of the UAE's production of the "Hayat-Fax" vaccine.
Leadership in Covid-19 management
"The UAE is at the forefront of world countries in dealing with Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to the forward-looking vision of the UAE aiming to enhance national resilience, achieve business continuity, and advance the healthcare system. This can be brought by investing in experiences and building on the achievements that clearly demonstrate the state's proactivity in the proper planning for the recovery phase and capitalizing on capabilities to preserve the gains and enhance community confidence in the capabilities and competence of the state,” said Al Owais.
International acclaim
For their part, the foreign ministers and ambassadors commended the rapid development of the health sector in the UAE, lauding the state's leading experience in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the humanitarian aid it has provided to a number of countries worldwide, including medical supplies and vaccines.