The Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Health (MOH) hosted today (Wednesday) the 5^th Meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministers of Health Committee and the 82^nd Conference of Council of Ministers of Health of the GCC at its 44^th session in the presence of the ministers of health and their accompanying delegation at the W Hotel Muscat.

H.E. Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Saidi, Minister of Health welcomed the delegations and praised the achievements of the Committee in the last past years. “A year ago, the council met in the State of Kuwait and number of recommendations have been made to improve the health of the citizens of the GCC States” Al-Saidi added.

On behalf of the Secretary-General of the GCC Council, H.E. Khalifa bin Said Al-Abri, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic & Development Affairs delivered a speech during the inauguration. Al-Abri touched upon a number of important topics including the Supreme Council’s decisions on the Unified Guide for Health Procedures at GCC First points of Entry, the expatriates check-up, and the smart card health file.

The 5^th Meeting of the GCC Ministers of Health Committee discussed the Decisions report of the GCC Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers on the fields of health and their implementation.

The agenda of the 5^th Meeting addressed a number of topics including the decision of the Supreme Council at its 37^th session in Al-Sukhair in December 2016 regarding the expatriates check-up, the implementation of Supreme Council Decision at its 36^th session in Al-Riyadh, December 2015, about the strategic stockpile of medicines, vaccines and medical supplies in cases and emergency crises and the list of medical supplies Guides, as well as the 39^th decision in Al-Riyadh, December 2018, on the Unified Guide for Health Procedures at GCC First points of Entry.

Furthermore, the agenda highlighted the smart card health file, medications, medical devices and supplies exempted from value-added tax (VAT). Additionally, the meeting followed-up the action plan of the GCC ministers of health, as well as coordinating and unifying the positions of the GCC countries in the international cartels in the health field, health cities, standardization of registration and classification procedures for medical specialties. Moreover, allocation of a daily sport session in GCC schools, human Capital indicator, and the WHO Air quality guidelines was discussed.

The 82^nd Conference of the GCC Council of Ministers of Health included a presentation on the achievements of the Ministers of Health Council during 2019, as well as another topics such as the decisions of the joint procurement, central registration, expatriate check-up, technical committees, the GCC Ministers of Health Council future orientation, the financial affairs and the operational work for the GCC Council.