On his own account, on behalf of Executive Board of the GCC Health Ministers Council, and on behalf of the Board members, the Director-General of the Executive Board of GCC Health Ministers Council, Dr. Tawfiq bin Ahmad Khojaha, has extended his deepest condolences and solace to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Deputy Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and all the royal family, as well as to His Excellency the Minister of Health, Mr. Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb, the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) staff, and to the the Saudi people in general; on the passing a way of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, may Allah have mercy upon him.
While opening, this Monday morning, the preparatory meeting of the Executive Board at Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Khoja said, "On behalf of you all, I am honored to congratulate the noble Saudi people on pledging allegiance to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as King of Saudi Arabia, and to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Deputy Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Meanwhile, I pray for Almighty Allah to guide them, grant them success, support them on the path of goodness, and to protect our beloved homeland, and to perpetuate security and prosperity in our Gulf. Verily, He is all Hearing and Ever-Responsive.” He extended his great thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting this GCC meeting, expressing in the same time his great pride of and appreciation for His Excellency the Minister of Health, Mr. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, for the valuable royal confidence entrusted upon him to take over the Ministry of Health portfolio. “Meanwhile,” he said, “I pray to Allah the Almighty to crown the efforts of His Excellency with success.”
Within the same vein, Dr. Khoja welcomed the kick-off of the Council's 40th session, and the 78th Conference of the GCC Health Ministers Council. It did not escape his notice to extend his thanks and gratitude to the MOH staff, and the organizing committees who have exerted colossal efforts in preparation for this significant Gulf conference. Dr. Khoja added, "I would like to express my great gratitude and appreciation to the efforts exerted by His Excellency the Vice Minister for Health Affairs, Dr. Mansour bin Nasser Alhowasi, who serves also as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference, and the Advisor to HE the Minister of Health for Regions Affairs, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Committee and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference, Dr. Ali bin Qassim Al-Qahtani."
Moreover, Dr. Khoja lauded the fruitful and constructive cooperation as well as the ongoing efforts exerted by the members of the Executive Board to push the march of the GCC joint health action towards more giving, construction and development. This is to find evidence in the achievements accomplished during the past 39th session, as well as the pioneering and positive role made by the session's chairman, His Excellency Dr. Ali Saad Al-Obaidi, the Kuwaiti Minister of Health, during the last session which was of great output, multiple activities, purposeful production and fruitful outcomes for the Gulf, regional and global levels. He also extended his great thanks to His Excellency Dr. Qais Saleh Al Dowairy, the Executive Board member in Kuwait, who played an effective and pivotal role in enriching the march of the health action during the past session, and in bringing about these achievements.
"It is become now a well-established tradition to organize such a preparatory meeting at the outset of each session, prior to the main ministerial conference, with the aim of completing discussion over the yet-to-be-settled issues, particularly those presented before Their Excellencies the ministers, or completing discussion over the issues that have emerged after the last meeting of the Executive Board, held in Riyadh last November,” added Dr. Khoja. “It is also to review the last preparations for organizing the 78th conference.”
“In the same time,” he went on adding, “the efforts exerted by the concerned bodies in the Saudi Ministry of Health are quite reassuring – thanks be to Allah! They have been true to their words, and, as usual, up to the good expectations. They exerted every possible effort in preparation for hosting this session; they have done well in creating the appropriate atmosphere and properly preparing for organizing this conference for a long time, thanks to Allah in the first place, and to the members of the conference organizing committees and all the MOH employees; not to forget the efforts of colleagues in the Executive Board. To all of them I extend my gratitude and appreciation. We all are looking forward to this conference and this session to achieve outstanding success, Allah willing.”
It's worth mentioning here that the preparatory meeting of the Executive Board of the GCC Health Ministers Council discussed the arrangements for the launch of the 40th session, and organizing the 78th Conference of the GCC Health Ministers Council, which will take place in Riyadh next Wednesday and Thursday. The meeting will also review the conference program and agenda.
Moreover, the Executive Board meeting has touched upon a number of technical issues, in addition to completing discussion over the issues that have emerged after the 81st meeting of the Executive Board, including financial and administrative supervision control by the GCC Secretariat General, health care and the proposal of the "Excellent performance Certificate".