Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to join you in inaugurating the Poliovirus Environmental Surveillance Diagnostic Laboratory at the National Polio Laboratory in Muscat, Oman.

This state-of-the-art polio surveillance facility marks a significant milestone in our collective fight against polio and reaffirms our unwavering commitment to public health.

On behalf of the World Health Organization and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, I take this opportunity to congratulate His Majesty Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman, and His Excellency Dr Hilal bin Ali bin Hilal Al-Sabti, the Minister of Health of Oman, for their visionary leadership and steadfast support in making this laboratory a reality.

For over two decades, Oman has played a pivotal role in supporting the polio eradication efforts of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region.