Riyadh, October 09, 2022, SPA -- Minister of Health, Fahad bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel, inaugurated today the World Health Forum and the accompanying exhibition, which will be held from 9-11 October at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, with more than 26,000 people from 30 countries are expected to attend the event which represents the largest forum for healthcare professionals in the world. The forum aims to create integration between the public and private sectors, provide investment opportunities, enable dialogue aimed at achieving the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and advance digital transformation in the healthcare sector. On the sidelines of the World Health Forum, Eng. Al-Jalajel met with officials from the private health sector and f representatives of small and medium enterprises, insurance companies, and local pharmaceutical factories in various regions in the Kingdom to develop the relationship and raise awareness on the role of investment in the health sector with partners. During the opening ceremony, Eng. Al-Jalajel announced that several partnership projects with the private sector in health services planned over the next 5 years will exceed 100 projects, with an estimated capital investment opportunities by the private sector of around SR48 billion. The Health Ministry highlighted that the announced initiatives and partnerships between the public and private sectors include the establishment and operation of two medical cities in the north and south of the Kingdom, the establishment and operation of 900 beds to provide medical rehabilitation and long-term care services, as well as the restructuring and improvement of primary health care services starting with more than 200 centers, in addition to providing air medical transport services in the Kingdom, and a partnership for radiology services. He pointed out that the ministry has comprehensively developed the procedures for issuing licenses and related regulations, to support the practice of commercial activities and facilitate the investor's interest in the health sector. The Ministry of Health has also established a call center to provide services to the business sector, said the minister, noting that one of the main objectives of Vision 2030 is to localize the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. The World Health Forum 2022 will be held this year in its third session, which was preceded by two sessions, the first was in 2018 while the second was held in 2019, during which thousands of healthcare professionals and experts from the Kingdom and the world gathered. --SPA 22:02 LOCAL TIME 19:02 GMT 0036 www.spa.gov.sa/w1795930