In the continuation of the strategic cooperation in several strategic projects related to the health sector between ADPHC and the Institute Pasteur, a delegation from the Center, headed by His Excellency Matar Saeed Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, and a selection of health sector experts, in the presence of Her Excellency Hend Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of France, conducted a scientific visit to the Institut Pasteur in Paris with the aim of discussing international strategies for education, innovation and public health and understand the research work system in the Institut Pasteur as well as with its affiliated international institutes from the Pasteur Network.
On this occasion, HE. Hend Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to France, said: "The UAE is mobilized now more than ever in the fight against epidemics and towards the development of treatments to address major health challenges. Through our cooperation with all our partners and with France in particular as part of the Franco-Emirati Strategic Dialogue, the UAE is working to create more efficient and sustainable health systems for the Gulf region and the world. Research and innovation are key to this approach and therefore we are very pleased with the partnership with Institut Pasteur, a world-class health institution and global reference of medical progress, which we had the pleasure of visiting.”
His Excellency Mattar Saeed Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre said, "With the support of the wise leadership, ADPHC continues its pivotal role in supporting one of the main programs for the medical field with the "UAE-France Strategic Dialogue" program. Such visit constitutes a close cooperation with the Institut Pasteur, a worldwide leading entity in infectious diseases." His Excellency added, "Such important visit has paved a space for global competition, the development of scientific research and medical education in public health, and the international cooperation we aspire to for fighting communicable diseases, especially the novel ones. Moreover, a specific cooperation agreement has been signed in the field of training and building capabilities within the frame of the MoU that was entered with the institute last July in the visit of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan “may God protect him” to the Republic of France." He concluded saying, "One of the most important provisions of the Agreement is the establishment of bilateral courses and trainings both in Paris and in Abu Dhabi, as this constitutes an important event in advancing aspects of health cooperation between the UAE and France to a broader horizon in a way that serves public health programs locally, regionally and globally, which will contribute to strengthening the country's position in this field and achieving sustainable development."
Commenting on this visit, Professor Stewart Cole, President of Pasteur Institute, said, "This cooperation, which aims to increase expertise of Abu Dhabi specialists and researchers who work on life science, public health and epidemiology, is in full accordance with the Institute Pasteur’s founding mission to disseminate scientific knowledge for the benefit of human health worldwide.” Professor Stewart Cole added, "This cooperation follows major cooperation agreements closed by France and Abu Dhabi in the fields of health, education and culture such as the partnership between the ADPHC and the AP-HP public hospital group on cardiovascular diseases prevention, the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and the Sorbonne in Abu Dhabi. It is supported and supervised by both French and Abu Dhabi authorities, in particular the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Higher Education and Research.”
The most important outputs of the visit were better understanding of the operational model of the Institute Pasteur, its priority areas as well as long-term sustainability resources, training plans and programs, and the research work system with the Pasteur Network.
It is worth mentioning that the Institute Pasteur is a private, non-profit foundation that aims to prevent and treat diseases, mainly those of infectious origin, through research, education and public health initiatives. It is also specialized in biology, microbes, diseases and vaccines. For more than 130 years, it has been at the fore in the fight against infectious diseases. It also achieved many scientific discoveries that enabled modern medicine to confront diseases (see boilerplate hereunder).
