June 6, 2023

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council convened a luncheon and networking session on June 6th in Boston, Massachusetts in honor of a U.A.E. delegation led by the Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), H.E. Mansoor Al Mansoori. The delegation included executives from an extensive list of Abu Dhabi-based companies that are key to the life sciences ecosystem of the U.A.E’s capital city. The group was visiting Boston to participate in the BIO Convention (please see here for more information about this conference).

Chairman Al Mansoori’s opening remarks focused on his priorities for the DoH, saying that he wants to “strengthen existing ties and initiate new ones.” He stressed that the DoH is keen to engage, collaborate, and co-create with innovative healthcare and pharmaceutical companies that are interested in bringing their research, development, and manufacturing to Abu Dhabi. He emphasized repeatedly his desire to build partnerships with companies committed to investing in Abu Dhabi and the U.A.E. To achieve this, H.E. Al Mansoori explained that the DoH is focused on creating an agile regulatory environment and a vibrant healthcare startup community in Abu Dhabi, from “ideation to production.” He spoke in particular about improving the quality of healthcare in Abu Dhabi by leveraging the power of AI, genomics, and precision medicines.

Other members of the DoH team also spoke at the luncheon event. H.E. Dr. Ahmed Al Khazraji, Executive Director for Strategy and Policy, elaborated on the potential of personalized medicine developed through genomics research. Dr. Farida Al Hosany, Executive Director for Infectious Diseases, spoke about the DoH’s focus on utilizing data to identify trends and promote healthy lifestyles among the U.A.E.’s population. Moreover, Dr. Asma Al Mannaei, Executive Director of the Research and Innovation Center, stressed the U.A.E.’s strength in bringing life-saving new products to the market quickly. She encouraged U.S. companies to leverage Abu Dhabi’s advanced infrastructure and bring their most challenging areas of research to the U.A.E.

Other members of the delegation representing some of the leading public and private institutions in the Abu Dhabi healthcare ecosystem – including Abu Dhabi Ports, Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), ADQ, Etihad Cargo, Daman, G42, KEZAD Group, Mubadala, Pure Health, and Rafed – also introduced themselves to the luncheon audience. Following brief presentations by each company, attendees had the opportunity to network with the delegation members in order to discuss partnership opportunities.

For more information about the Business Council’s work in the healthcare sector, please contact Alyssa Kristeller at akristeller@usuaebusiness.org. Please click here for the Business Council’s latest version of its annual report on the U.A.E. healthcare market.