WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Hanan Balkhy, has concluded an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 11 to 14 January, during which she held a series of high-level meetings to strengthen collaboration on regional and global health priorities, including equitable access to medical products, climate and health, digital cooperation, health system resilience, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

During the visit, Dr Balkhy met with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Sports, and the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. Discussions focused on advancing multilateral cooperation, reinforcing health security and supporting WHO’s regional flagship initiatives, while highlighting Saudi Arabia’s growing leadership in health diplomacy, humanitarian action and sustainable development.

Dr Balkhy held meetings with H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Rassi, Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs; H.E. Adel Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Envoy for Climate; and H.E. Waleed Elkhereiji, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. Exchanges focused on shared priorities in global health, climate change and multilateral cooperation, as well as strengthening collaboration between the Kingdom and WHO in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

A central focus of the visit was the regional flagship initiative on equitable access to medical products. In discussions with H.E. Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Dr Balkhy explored how Saudi Arabia’s industrial capacity, regulatory maturity, Vision 2030 and the Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative can directly support regional production of quality-assured medicines and vaccines.

“Access to medicines is not only a health issue, but a health, economic and security imperative for the Eastern Mediterranean Region,” said Dr Balkhy. “By leveraging Saudi Arabia’s leadership, industrial strength and strategic vision, we can help build more resilient and equitable supply chains serving over 750 million people across the Region.”