The Emirates ambassador ends his trip to Andalusia with an eye on the biosanitary sector
Al-Suwaidi, after finishing his meeting at the Granada Health Technology Park (PTS), visited the Alhambra,
The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Majid al-Suwaidi has finished his official trip to Andalusia by visiting the Granada Health Technology Park (PTS), an innovative center specialized in life and health sciences. Al-Suwaidi's visit to these facilities is due to the great interest of the Emirates in the health sector. The Gulf country has become the world's leading investment center in this field.
Its modern hospitals, along with professionals, have established the Emirates as one of the best countries in terms of health in the Middle East. Emirates is the destination of many citizens of the region and other parts of the world who seek efficacy and pioneering techniques when it comes to treating any disease, which is considered 'medical tourism'.
Similarly, Emirates demonstrated successful management during the coronavirus pandemic and during the subsequent vaccination campaign. For this reason, the Emirati ambassador emphasized the importance of health sciences and technological development in this area. He also expressed his desire to find new partners to collaborate on health projects.
For its part, Ana Sharp, director of the Health Technology Park, offered a brief explanation about the center and its history. As Agudo reported, the PTS was built during the 1990s, growing and increasing the number of buildings over the years.
In the last months, the center has begun to specialize in artificial intelligence with the aim of using it for health purposes. In this project they collaborate with Indra, Google and the University of Granada. "We are very excited about the things that await us," Agudo said.
Subsequently, Al-Suwaidi listened carefully to presentations from various companies in this sector. Jose Antonio Llorente, director of GENYO, began with the interventions before the ambassador. GENYO is a company in which public institutions come together with private initiatives, something that, in Llorente's words, “is an example of how public and private can be brought together to promote research”.
GENYO studies the genetic basis of various diseases such as cancer, diabetes or rare diseases. As an aspect to highlight, this company is also part of the Interfaith Alliance, an organization that protects the rights of the faithful of all religions. Likewise, GENYO is involved in various humanitarian projects, such as the fight against child trafficking.
Diego Pozas has presented the MEDINA Foundation, a company that researches new drugs for various types of diseases. The foundation has reached international agreements with countries such as Japan or the United States.
Mario Delgado, for its part, has explained the objectives of the López Neyra Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine (IPBLN), related to the CSIC. This body is in charge of issues related to cell biology, molecular biology, molecular pharmacology and biochemistry, among others.
Among the organizations exposed to the ambassador, the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (IBS). Sarah biel has described this organization as "an integrating space for biomedical research in Granada". Likewise, he pointed out the collaboration that the IBS maintains with the University of Granada. It has also agreed 16 projects with the European Union.
Among the areas that IBS works are oncology, focused on causes and therapy; epidemiology, emphasizing primary care and public health; precision medicine; and advanced therapies and biomedical technologies.
Francisco Vives, director of the Center for Biomedical Research of the University of Granada (CIBM), has been in charge of closing the meeting with al-Suwaidi. The CIBM has 80 specialized laboratories and is developing 350 investigations. At an international level, it collaborates with universities in Latin America and with countries in the Middle East such as the Emirates or Jordan.
Al-Suwaidi, within the Health Technology Park, also visited IAVANTE's advanced clinical simulation center.
After the meeting with the leaders of the main companies biosanitary, al-Suwaidi visited the Alhambra. The diplomat was accompanied byr Rosario Alarcon, director of Andalucía Global; Rocio Diaz, general director of the Board of the Alhambra; Irene Bonal, member of the Board of Trustees; Anthony Peral, conservative architect and Gonzalo mochón, head of public visit. Before the guided tour, the ambassador signed the Alhambra's book of honor in the Tower of Justice.
This trip of the Emirati ambassador al-Suwaidi has served to strengthen ties with Spain, both economic and cultural. Andalusia has been the perfect setting to strengthen relations in these two areas, due, firstly, to the commercial links through Andalusian exports to the Emirates; and, on the other hand, to the cultural legacy of the region, which was a place of coexistence between the three Abrahamic religions. In this matter, Emirates seeks to position itself as a preferred in the Middle East. Al-Suwaidi, during his visit to Andalusia, in addition to focusing on economic and commercial issues, also repeatedly emphasized his country's efforts to establish tolerance and peace between different cultures.