H.H. Sheikh Saud of Ras Al Khaimah (seated second from left) and H.H. Sheikh Faisal (seated second from right) greet members of the U.S. Health delegation at the royal palace in RAK and discuss bilateral commercial opportunities.
Representatives from over a dozen U.S. companies with business activities in the commercial healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors took part in the U.S. Commercial Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Life Sciences, and Technology Trade Mission to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), led by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council.
The trade mission, which took place last week on the margins of Arab Health in Dubai, featured meetings with prominent government officials and commercial authorities in the U.A.E.’s economic development and healthcare sectors, and site visits to Dubai Health Care City, and NMC’s Specialty Hospital in Abu Dhabi, and Julphar Pharmaceuticals in Ras Al Khaimah.
“This is an exciting time for U.S. companies seeking commercial partnership with their counterparts in the U.A.E.,” said Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council. “This trade mission allowed U.S. companies to see the vast opportunities for collaboration with local companies not only in the U.A.E.’s growing pharmaceutical industry, but in the country’s broader healthcare sector as well.”
The delegation’s agenda included meetings with U.S. Consul General Justin Siberell; Dr. Peyvand Khaleghian, Director of Strategy and Policy at the Dubai Health Authority; Dr. Mark McPhee, Interim C.E.O. of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and his executive team; H.E. Hisham Al Shirawi, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Chamber; Suhail Al Ansari, Director of Mubadala Healthcare; Mohammad Al Shihhi, Deputy Minister of Economy at the U.A.E. Ministry of Economy.
In Abu Dhabi, the delegation met with Allen Harris, Chief Financial Officer of SEHA, the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, along with his colleagues Mohamed Al Hameli, Chief Support Services Officer and Todd M. Bankhead, Sr. Manager, Business Planning and Development; Noura Jasem Al Nowais, Director of International Business Department, and Ahmad Abu Ghaida, Economic Planning Advisor at the Department of Economic Development; H.E. Zaid Al Siksek, C.E.O., and Dr. Phillip Vetter, Head of Strategy of the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD); and Khalid Lootah, Acting CEO for Institutional & Support Services and Director of the IT Department at the U.A.E. Ministry of Health.
The delegation spent a day in the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, where they toured Julphar Pharmaceuticals, the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in the Gulf region, and met with the company’s C.E.O., Dr. Ayman Sahli. They also visited the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone where they were met by its chairman, His Highness Sheikh Faisal bin Saqr Al Qasimi, and C.E.O. Oussama El Omari. The delegation’s visit culminated in a meeting with His Highness Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.
The trade mission concluded with a dinner hosted by Ambassador Richard G. Olson, U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E., at his residence in Abu Dhabi.
The trade mission was certified by the Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce and was supported by the U.A.E. Embassy Trade and Commercial Office in Washington, D.C.
