Health cooperation with Ireland discussed

Manama, Apr. 7 (BNA): Health Minister Faeqa bint Saeed Al Saleh received the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Joseph Anthony (Tony) Cotter, praising the bilateral ties and expressing the ministry's aspiration to benefit from Irish medical expertise to develop healthcare and medical services and to train national medical and nursing staff. The ambassador congratulated the minister on the Kingdom of Bahrain's successful hosting of Bahrain Gulf Air GP for Formula 1 and the more than successful participation of national medical crews in this event. The two sides explored aspects of health cooperation, noting that numerous Bahraini medical staff are graduates of Irish universities. The minister cited the Irish doctors' visit programme which the ministry is keen to implement in compliance with the directives of the Kingdom's leadership, expressing the ministry's wish to host Irish medical experts in some specialisations to carry out surgical procedures and training local medical and nursing staff in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC). The Irish ambassador praised the ministry's efforts to develop its medical and treatment services, affirming his country's keenness on bolstering the cooperation with Bahrain in various fields, especially the medical field. He affirmed Ireland's readiness to provide all possible assistance to implement the Health Ministry's aspirations, besides bilateral cooperation to overcome any challenges which may appear during the implementation of Bahrain's aspirations.