Abu Dhabi

Behind the Scenes of Our New Sub-Regional Office in Abu Dhabi

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Behind the scenes of our new sub-regional office in Abu Dhabi

The OIE Subregional Representation in Abu Dhabi (SRR-AD) was inaugurated on 1 August 2020. Located in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, the office is responsible for managing and coordinating all OIE activities for the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries which include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar, in addition to Yemen. Although the office was established at a very challenging time, when COVID-19 was affecting the whole world, as it continues to, we have succeeded in sharing our voice at local, regional and international levels. Here is what has been happening behind the scenes to ensure that our voice has been heard.

During the past few months, the SRR-AD has participated in several activities such as, the ‘One Health approach, Food Safety and Sustainable Food Systems’ webinar, organised by the FAO-SNR office in Abu Dhabi; the Eleventh Meeting of the Global Steering Committee of the GF-TADs (GSC11); and the Regional Webinar for OIE National Focal Points for Veterinary Products (6th Cycle); in addition to several meetings and webinars conducted by various OIE departments and working groups.

The SRR-AD office organised this regional symposium, in collaboration with the OIE Preparedness and Resilience Department and the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority. Around 100 participants from several of the region’s countries attended. This symposium aimed to highlight the role of the OIE in supporting the implementation of quality management, emphasising the role of veterinary laboratories in the implementation of quality control and quality management systems and in sharing knowledge on the recent updates in quality management among the region’s Members.

In addition, the SRR-AD initiated communication with some regional stakeholders to highlight the OIE’s role in supporting animal health and welfare services. One of these meetings was with the FAO-SNR in Abu Dhabi, where collaboration in conducting and supporting some animal-health related activities was discussed. Moreover, another meeting was conducted with the Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi to introduce the OIE, highlighting its activities related to wildlife animal health, and to discuss future collaboration. We also had a meeting with the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority to discuss joint cooperation in several fields, including animal health and welfare, public-private partnerships, community support, and knowledge sharing. 

We wish to thank our colleague Dr Mohammed Ali Alhosani for submitting this article for the OIE In-house Times.

OIE In-house Times – January 2021