Dubai Chamber puts spotlight on healthcare sector

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry,in partnership with Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and the Healthcare Industry Service Centre Dubai, hosted the 4^th annual Arab Health Connect 2013 networking event on Sunday.

The event, held on the sidelines of Arab Health 2013, offered healthcare professional the opportunity to meet with industry counterparts from Hamburg, Northern Germany and the international arena. It also provided them with information about the latest updates, innovations and trends affecting the region’s healthcare industry today.

Arab Health Connect was organised as part of Dubai and Hamburg Chambers’ strategic partnership and allowed both organisations to discuss bilateral cooperation in light of the importance of the healthcare sector for the two cities.

Giving the welcome address, H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber said that the UAE’s healthcare sector was thriving due to high government spending, a growing and affluent population, and strong foreign investment partners.

“Healthcare spending per capita remains high, driven by outpatient services, higher awareness levels and over-consumption of services by insured patients,” said H.E. Buamim.

“All these factors are generating new investment opportunities, which the private sector can help address, especially with regard to providing quality, affordable treatment and facilities and services,” he said.

“Working with Hamburg companies, Dubai can begin to fill some of the gaps in current provision thanks to German expertise and experience in healthcare. At the same time, Dubai is an excellent gateway for Hamburg companies seeking expansion into high-growth markets of the UAE, GCC, Middle East, and Africa,” H.E. Buamim said.

In 2011, 24% of the UAE’s federal budget was spent on social and healthcare development and this is set to nearly double by 2014.The UAE, and Dubai in particular, continues to attract major international healthcare investors and the government is focusing its efforts to attract more quality private healthcare providers to the country.

H.E. Harry Glawe, Minister of Economy, Construction and Tourism of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, who gave a keynote address, said: “The United Arab Emirates is now among the most important customers for German companies for medical products, hospital equipment and medical services.

H.E. Glawe said that his regionis a leading health state in Germany, boosted by the medical faculties of the Universities Greifswald and Rostock as well as the three colleges for medical sciences and biotechnology and more than 60 state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospitals.

He said the area is an attractive and competitive business location, part of the fast-growing Baltic Sea region, which is home to almost 90 million consumers.

The region has special expertise in the field of diabetes treatment, based on more than 80 years of research, H.E. Glawe said, including the development of an electronic diabetes-management system, called KADIS, which simulates a patients expected blood sugar curve and automatically develops individualised treatment recommendations for the attending physician.

“Dramatic long-term damages for the patient are thus reduced and of course also costs for the healthcare system are saved. This system was developed in Mecklenburg-East Pomerania, at the Institute for Diabetes “Gerhard Katsch” in Karlsburg,” he said.

Other speakers were:H.E. Prof.Dr. Schmidt-Trenz, CEO of Hamburg Chamber of Commerce; H.E. Eng. Essa Al Maidour, Director General, Dubai Health Authority; and Mr.ZwetanRaltschew, Department Manager International Sales, Olympus Surgical Technologies Europe.