Press Release Details

UAE Minister of Health H.E. Humaid Mohamed Al Qutami opens Abu Dhabi’s first Medical Congress

Publication Date: 1 Sep 2007

The Honourable Minister of Health, H.E. Humaid Mohamed Al Qutami, is scheduled to inaugurate the Congress, which is jointly organised by IIR Exhibitions Middle East and Arab Health, and is being held under the patronage of the Ministry of Health, the Department of Health and Medical Services (DoHMS), the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi Police.

 

The premier healthcare event incorporates six separate conferences and addresses key topics affecting the national and international healthcare industries.  The Abu Dhabi Medical Congress will provide key information on the latest industry developments, and will also act as a platform for interactive discussions and forums, direct interaction and networking opportunities among more than 2,000 medical professionals. 

 

Simon Horgan, CEO of ADNEC, said, "We have certainly jump-started our exhibition season with the Medical Congress, as it is one of the key events for anyone involved in the medical industry right around the Middle East.  We have been busy during the summer compiling an exhibition calendar full of some of the world’s most prominent events, and the Congress is a reflection of the type of exhibitions that will be held in the UAE’s capital city in the near future."

 

The Congress is being held at an opportune time, as the healthcare sector has recently been recognised as one of the fastest expanding service sectors in the Middle East.  The alarming rise of diseases such as diabetes, which affects 19.5 per cent of the UAE population, means that the Congress is an opportunity for medical professionals to focus on the various challenges, regulations and demands characterising the sector. 

 

The six conferences incorporated in the Congress include the Health Care Management Forum; the Healthcare Insurance Congress; the Emergency Congress; the Patient Safety Congress; the Information Technology in Healthcare Forum; and the Primary Healthcare Congress. All conferences are being held from September 02 - 06, 2007, at three exhibition halls within ADNEC. 

 

Construction has recently started on Phase 2 of ADNEC, and the AED 580 million (USD 158 million) project will see the venue double in size to become the Middle East's largest purpose-built exhibition centre with inter-connected exhibition floor space totalling more than 55,000 square metres. Phase 2 of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre is scheduled for completion in autumn 2008.

 

"We expect to welcome around one million visitors a year to the venue once Phase 2 is complete.  In doing so, ADNEC will be responsible for enlarging the exhibition industry in the UAE by at least 25 per cent," Horgan concluded.