The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Ministry of Health (MOH), participated with a high-level delegation led by His Excellency the Minister of Health, Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, today, in the meetings of the 62nd session of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Committee, currently held in Kuwait.
The opening ceremony included several keynote addresses; most notably the one delivered by the Director General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan. She touched upon many aspects of concern to international health, and called upon all countries to proceed further to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been recently approved by the WHO Member States. Within the same vein, Dr. Chan has lauded the gracious support provided by KSA to the WHO, for controlling Ebola and communicable diseases. She also commended the approach adopted by the Kingdom, represented by MOH, by investing in MERS-CoV-related research.
Another address was delivered by His Excellency the Kuwaiti Minister of Health, Dr. Ali Al-Obeidi, in which he welcomed the Member States and the participating organizations, and commended the positive role of the regional countries in achieving the WHO objectives and recommendations, with a view to fulfilling SDGs.
For his part, Eng. Al-Falih underscored the Kingdom’s commitment to (and its keen interest in) cooperating with the WHO and all its Member States. It didn’t escape his notice to praise the hospitality shown by the brotherly Kuwaiti people, describing it as distinguished. "This should come as no surprise, though,” al-Falih said. He extended his sincere thanks to the Kuwaiti government for hosting the conference, which reflects its interest in global health developments.