A high-level national delegation headed by Dr. Mohammed Salim Al Olama, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Health, recently visited Australia as part of the Ministry’s continuing efforts to strengthen ties with foreign nations. The move was in line with the country’s objective of establishing its leadership in healthcare services by providing state-of-the-art medical care and advanced equipment’s in hospitals and health institutions. The visit reinforced cooperation between the UAE and Australia through the exchange of experience in healthcare and mutual support for competitiveness. 

During the visit, delegates toured several hospitals, including the University Hospital in Sydney and Royal Hospital for Children in Melbourne in addition to specialized research centers for cancer, nerves, and heart disease. Members discussed the possibility of signing agreements with specialist medical research centers for the exchange of information and experiences, referral of critical patients to Australian hospitals for treatment, future visits of Australian doctors to the UAE, and the screening of patient samples to help in the diagnosis of diseases. In addition, they deliberated on signing a protocol for the enrollment of local doctors and technicians to advanced courses in specialized hospitals in Australia. 

Dr. Al Olama expressed his admiration for at the efforts to enhance mutual cooperation and establish strong partnerships between the UAE and Australia. He explained that the collaboration will provide essential training to doctors and the best treatments for patients as well as facilitate the exchange of experiences between both parties in order to develop, update and transfer scientific innovations between the two countries. He said: “Through this visit, the Ministry aims to exchange medical expertise with Australia to benefit from their experiences.”

“This visit was organized in line with the Ministry’s strategy of adopting the best practices in the field of healthcare which complements the vision of the UAE’s wise leadership in providing the highest levels of therapeutic and preventive services to the community in compliance with international standards and guidelines. Additionally, it aims to build a sustainable medical staff by advocating the spirit of scientific research to establish highly-advanced medical research centers in the UAE,” he concluded.

The Undersecretary emphasized the importance of sharing experiences in medical research, especially in the field of thalassemia and neurosurgery as well as in the control of infectious and non-infectious diseases in coordination with the World Health Organization by monitoring and investigating the transmission of diseases. Furthermore, the Ministry has a goal of establishing smart medical laboratories and creating modern management systems to monitor key performance indicators of health services, including the quality of medical professionals, healthcare facilities and equipment, and pharmaceutical products.

The visit was conducted in cooperation with the Consulate General of Australia in Dubai and the UAE Embassy in Australia. The delegation included Dr. Issa Al Mansouri, Director of the Undersecretary’s Office, UAE Ministry of Health; Dr. Amal Albayrak, Technical Director, Kalba Hospital; and Dr. Soumia Al Shehhi, Technical Director, Obaidullah Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah.