Abu Dhabi has set its sights on Belgium, as a leading global pharmaceutical hub, to establish a global distribution corridor to serve the world in vaccine delivery and future life science needs.
In a statement, it noted that the collaboration builds on the capabilities of Abu Dhabi’s healthcare sector as a leading life sciences hub and the efforts of the HOPE Consortium in providing vaccine solutions for the world.
Dedicated pharma trade lane
The first agreement was between the HOPE Consortium, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), Brussels Airport Company and Pharma.Aero. Led by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the regulator of the healthcare sector in the emirate, the collaboration aims to establish a fully compliant origin-to-destination pharma air corridor between Abu Dhabi and Brussels Airports.
Abu Dhabi said the dedicated pharma trade lane will unite key compliant and sector certified supply chain stakeholders, including forwarders and ground handling agents.
"Our goal is to enhance Abu Dhabi’s positioning as a world-class pharma logistics hub and a destination focused on global welfare by investing in strategic public and private sector collaborations, and the allocation of expertise and resources," said H.E. Dr. Jamal Al Kaabi, undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.
Earlier this year, a delegation from the HOPE Consortium met with pharmaceutical industry stakeholders in Brussels.
It said thanks to its network of partners, the HOPE Consortium has handled over 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, contributing to vaccination programmes in over 40 global destinations.
Meanwhile, it noted that western Europe currently ranks as the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical export market with a total export value of nearly EUR 42 billion in 2020.
"Brussels Airport is the leading hub serving the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry in Europe with over 750 million vaccines handled at the airport, serving 60 destinations worldwide," said Nathan De Valck, head of cargo at Brussels Airport.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, chairman of the HOPE Consortium Executive Committee and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, added that the proactive sharing of knowledge and expertise among stakeholders remains vital to the partnership’s ongoing success.
“The HOPE Consortium is pleased to collaborate in the development of a fully compliant origin-to-destination pharma air corridor between Abu Dhabi and Belgium. This milestone agreement will help strengthen our mutual relationship and allow us to achieve our government’s vision of establishing our emirate as a life sciences hub serving the region and the world."
The development of the dedicated Pharma Air Corridor will leverage API-IoT devices-webforms-internet shared with all relevant stakeholders to monitor pharma shipments closely.
The agreement was welcomed by Dr. Ghalia Ali Al Humaidan, Chargé d'affaires of the UAE Mission to Belgium, who said: "The strategic ties between the UAE and Belgium are vital in supporting trade routes between the Middle East and Europe. This commitment further expands the effectiveness of a collaborative approach to addressing pharmaceutical demand flows between the two regions."
