WELCOME ADDRESS

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

   I welcome you to this second Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Cardiovascular Conference for the Gulf Heart Association (GHA).

   For the purpose of introducing the GHA to our guests, the GHA was established exactly 2 years ago, in Doha, Qatar.  That was a historic conference, laying down foundations and building bridges of cooperation among cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, and other cardiovascular specialists in the GCC states.  During that conference, we discussed and finalized the establishment of a cardiac society composed of members from the GCC states.  We named it “Gulf Heart Association” and we announced its “birth” during that conference. And now, the GHA has completed the age of two years.  This conference today is a celebration of its “weaning”, i.e., marking its moving on “from infancy to maturity.”  The GHA will work hard to improve the quality of cardiac care in the GCC states through its various activities.

The aims of our association and what we hope to achieve are as follows:

1.  Raising the standard of cardiac care in the GCC states.
2.  Conduct scientific conferences and symposia.
3.  Carry on scientific research on cardiovascular diseases. 
4. Publish professional periodicals and information. (GHA has Heart Views as its      official journal and a website).
5.  Create professional, educational, and social ties among members of GHA.
6.  Create links and cooperation locally and with international medical institutions and 
     professional societies.
7. The GHA hopes to establish criteria for GCC cardiovascular specialists to meet      high standards of competence and expertise.
8.  The GHA seeks to suggest laws to be adopted by GCC countries for the prevention      of cardiac disease and advance the care of patients with heart disease.

   The GHA is considering organizing teams with expertise in cardiovascular disease to perform invasive cardiac procedures and cardiovascular operations within the GCC countries.  Such activity will enrich our members’ experience and strengthen professional relations between colleagues.  We will also welcome the participation of international medical societies in such stimulating activities.  Our colleagues from Yemen expressed their desire to host the first visit.

   The fast development and advances in diagnosis and treatment in cardiovascular disease - our specialty - force us to keep ourselves up to date with the latest scientific advances and we must cooperate to educate ourselves.  New insights into the underlying causes of cardiac diseases have led to new diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive strategies in combating heart disease.  It is a must for all practicing cardiovascular specialists to be familiar with such new knowledge and to incorporate these new strategies in our practice.  In this way, we raise the quality of health care that we deliver, which is good and beneficial for our society.  One of the important ways to gain new knowledge and master new skills is through attendance of scientific conferences such as this one.  Organizing a large scientific conference requires teamwork and cooperation and can be realized through the efforts of scientific societies, such as the GHA.  The formation of the GHA was a landmark accomplishment for the GCC states. 

   My first attendance to the American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting thirty years ago induced a dream to have such an organization within the GCC states.  I am happy now that that dream came true.

   So, the GHA was a dream that has become a reality.  I am sure that GHA will advance and grow on the shoulders of those working in this honorable profession of cardiology in the Gulf.  GHA will be a torch for science and cooperation for the progress of our profession and to provide advanced care to the citizens of our beloved GCC states. 

   Finally, I would like to thank you for attending our conference. I hope you will find this conference stimulating, useful, and rewarding.

   Thank you.

                                                                            Hajar A. Hajar Albinali, MD, FGHA, FACC
                                                                            President, GHA
                                                                            Minister of Public Health, State of Qatar
                                                                            January 12, 2004