Mubadala inks deal to boost Abu Dhabi medical tourism

ABU DHABI / WAM

Mubadala Investment Company, through its healthcare arm, on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nirvana Travel and Tourism to formalise their intention to collaborate on projects that will support the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 objective of establishing the emirate as a leading medical tourism destination.
Areas of collaboration will focus on potential visitors from the GCC, the Mena region, Russia, China, and India, and will include creating attractive and all-inclusive medical tourism packages, as well as exploring joint marketing and business opportunities.
Commenting on the signing of the MoU, Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Head of Mubadala Healthcare, said, “By working together, Mubadala and Nirvana can ensure that patients will experience only the highest standards across the full spectrum of treatment and travel, thus helping cement Abu Dhabi’s reputation as the destination of choice for healthcare.”
Alaa Al Ali, Nirvana CEO, said, “Abu Dhabi’s huge investments in medical tourism have significantly boosted the sector and created numerous opportunities for us to enhance it. Cooperation between government agencies and partnerships with the private sector contribute to making the capital a viable international medical hub. Nirvana and Mubadala will work together to meet the needs of patients from abroad, thus complementing Mubadala’s efforts to enhance the local healthcare sector by utilising existing healthcare expertise and the advanced infrastructure found here.”
The partnership between medical and tourism entities follows the example set by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health and the Department of Culture and Tourism.
As part of their collaboration, the departments have jointly set up a patient portal that will serve as a one-stop shop, where potential medical tourists can find useful information about healthcare providers, medical tourism packages, visa applications, accommodations and more.
Al Shamsi explained, “Through its tremendous support and by focusing on the combination of superior medical care and Abu Dhabi’s highly regarded tourism industry, the government has established a framework for extensive cooperation between stakeholders that will secure the emirate’s position as a leading medical tourism destination.”
Mubadala’s integrated healthcare network includes the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Healthpoint, the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, the National Reference Laboratory, the Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre, the Capital Health Screening Centre and Amana Healthcare.