Saudi Arabia to Lead World to Safe, Healthy Future

Ministers and participants at the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ministers and participants at the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia to Lead World to Safe, Healthy Future

Ministers and participants at the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ministers and participants at the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023 (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023 has introduced five key themes for its panel discussions which will feature government officials, experts, and medical biotechnology scientists. The summit looks to maximize health technical investment.

Prince Abdullah bin Bandar, the Saudi minister of National Guard, on Wednesday officially opened the two-day Summit.

On the opening day, the Summit’s panel discussions, sessions and activities dealt with cell and gene therapy.

Participants discussed investment trends in biotechnology and the strategic implementation of cellular therapy in Saudi Arabia. They also reviewed ways to pave the way for cell therapy based on iPS (a technology for liquid crystal displays), and the extent to which cell and gene therapy can be enabled through new modalities for engineered therapies.

In an opening speech, Bandar Al-Kinawy, executive director general of Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, quoted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who had said that “we are building a more prosperous homeland where citizen’s find all that they desire.”

“For the future of our homeland, which we are building together, we will only accept that we make it at the forefront of the countries of the world.”

Al-Kinawy stressed that, as an inspirational leader, the Crown Prince has harnessed capabilities, supported renaissance, created competitiveness, and raised the ceiling of aspirations towards more creativity and excellence.

Moreover, Al-Kinawy described the global summit as a milestone for medical biotechnology that represents the future of the health sector.

He said that through the summit he looks forward to the development of a Saudi biotech health industry, built through an exchange of knowledge between industry leaders around the world, that consolidates the Kingdom’s position as a pioneer in the field and provides opportunities for innovators to present their ideas, explore investment opportunities, and discuss regulatory legislation, to help face global health challenges.

Ahmed Alaskar, Executive Director of the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, reaffirmed that hopes hang high on the Summit’s results in its second edition.

“What we are witnessing today in terms of the acceleration of technological development at the global level will positively affect the life and livelihood of the individual, and will be accompanied by transformations in the economies of societies and the orientations of countries in general,” said Alaskar.

“This transformation coincides with an insightful vision of the Kingdom’s leadership, which set among its goals the transformation from an economy based on oil to one based on alternative products and advanced technologies, and even leadership in the field,” he added.



GCC Welcomes Agreement between Yemen Govt, Houthis

Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special representative for Yemen, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 28, 2023. (AP)
Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special representative for Yemen, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 28, 2023. (AP)
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GCC Welcomes Agreement between Yemen Govt, Houthis

Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special representative for Yemen, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 28, 2023. (AP)
Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special representative for Yemen, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 28, 2023. (AP)

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed on Wednesday the agreement between the legitimate Yemeni government and Iran-backed Houthi militias to de-escalate the situation with regard to the Yemeni banking sector and airlines.

The agreement was announced by the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on Tuesday.

Albudaiwi expressed the GCC's support for all regional and international efforts and the efforts led by the UN special envoy aimed at achieving peace and security in Yemen.

The announcement underscores the importance the international community attaches to the Yemeni crisis, he added, hoping the agreement will pave the way for Yemeni parties to start the political process, under UN auspices, to reach a comprehensive political solution that achieves security and stability in the country.

He reiterated the GCC's continued support and full solidarity with Yemen, its government and people, and its keenness to encourage all efforts to de-escalate and maintain stability in order to reach peace.