In the Name of Allah, we praise Him, and peace is upon His Messenger;
Your Excellences,
My brother and sister graduates,
Dear Participants,
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you;
It is my pleasure to be here with you, on this day when my happiness is mixed with the happiness of your families, as this ceremony is one of the most important national events for graduating medical specialists. A such, I would like to congratulate our country on your success and congratulate you as well that Allah enabled you to obtain the Saudi Specialty Certificate and Diploma Programs, after several years you have spent working hard to have such prestigious scientific certificates.
I am pleased to extend thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, may Allah protect him, who patronized this event to share with his sons the joy of success.
Such precious patronage by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is reckoned an honor for the health sector in general and health education in particular and I was honored to represent the King for opening this event.
Ladies and gentlemen;
The expansion and development witnessed in the health sector indicates that the Kingdom is moving in the right direction for development and advancement of the health services in accordance with ambitious levels, and during this period in which we evaluate performance, review strategies and explore new opportunities, our priorities are to focus on implementing plans of localization of Saudi work force in the health sector in line with the human capital development which is the axis of our national development and meet the health sector's requirement during the upcoming period, Allah willing. You are our real wealth and the capital that we are proud of.
There is no doubt that the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCHS) is reckoned an active and important partner in implementing the strategic plans of human resources and drawing and exploring a bright healthy future. The Commission has proved its supremacy at the Gulf and Arab levels through its distinguished contributions to its fields of business and various activities, most notably training and education, given that the number of its graduates up to now exceeded 7,000, more than 6,000 of them are Saudis.
Here today, we are celebrating the honoring of the 18th batch of graduates who have obtained the Saudi Specialty Certificate and Diploma Programs. It is the first batch which broke the barrier of thousand graduates; most of them are specialist physicians.
When we look at the increasing number of graduates from the Commission, we find that they have been doubled this year compared to five years ago and the medical specialties have increased until reached 77 covering many areas needed by the health sector to upgrade its services.
Dear guests;
In spite of all these achievements, we are still facing a big challenge regarding localization of medical cadres, because Saudization of doctors remains at 29% out of the total number of doctors working for the Ministry, and the ratio is also low in some other health specialties such as nursing, at the time the MOH is witnessing a significant expansion in the establishment of health facilities. With such expansion, the bed capacity at the Ministry of Health's (MOH) hospitals is expected to double during the next years, in addition to available health jobs at medical facilities in other governmental sectors and private health sector.
Dear male/female graduates;
The national medical cadres have proven efficiency in many specialties as attested by their peers around the world, and also they have participated actively in the field of research and development, the matter which undoubtedly contributes to building the solid basis for health services in our beloved country.
I am confident that your graduation from such a deeply-rooted commission is not restricted to attaining knowledge, sciences and skills and active participation in the field of research and development, but it extended to other more important things that include values and behaviors, which represent the spirit of health work. Here today you are on the threshold of a lively new phase, focusing on treatment of patients from all the physical and moral disorders. What a great profession you perform with a sense of patriotism, morals and human dimensions, hoping you to be among those who Allah Almighty referred to in the Holy Quran, when He said, "And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind."
Dear male/female graduates;
While heading towards a bright future, Allah willing, serving your country and citizens and achieving your dreams and personal and professional ambitions, you should follow the footsteps of your predecessors, brilliant and prominent national figures who are among the pioneering academics and doctors in the Kingdom and whose morals, knowledge and high sprits were unprecedented.
I am so proud to honor today, in the name of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, three of the Saudi veteran doctors by awarding them the honorary Saudi Specialty Certificate, they are: Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulazzi Al-Rabea, Prof. Yousif bin Muhammad Al-Gandan and Prof. Muhammad bin Manna Al-Qattan.
These pioneering doctors have dedicated their lives to the development of the health sector and training and educating successive batches of medical cadres in the Kingdom, and gave a lot to the health sector over many years during which they made distinctive achievements. I hereby call upon all graduates to take them as a role model while sensing the superiority of this profession.
On behalf of myself and my colleagues in the health sector led by the staff of the MOH, I congratulate you and your families and us on such success and achievement and I am so happy that you will join the qualified teamwork and carry the banner of development in your specialty for the advancement of our nation.
In conclusion, I am homered to convey to you congratulations of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, may Allah protect him, for your successes. This great leader, known for his love of history, inspired us to make future by his innovative, decisive and wise decisions. Also, I extend my thanks and gratitude to the attendees and participants and all those who contributed to supporting these graduates during their scientific march.
I pray to Allah, the Almighty, to perpetuate for this country its security and stability under the leadership of its wise leadership.
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you