The Supreme Council of Health ( SCH) and Institut Pasteur, an international research institute of excellence with a mission to advance science, medicine and public health, have signed an agreement to develop co-operation and research in the areas of infectious diseases and immunology.
The five-year agreement was signed by HE the Minister of Public Health Abdullah bin Khalid al-Qahtani, and Institut Pasteur director general Prof Christian Brechot in the presence of French ambassador Eric Chevallier.
The agreement was developed with inputs from various organisations such as the Department of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar Foundation and Qatar University.
“This agreement will strengthen collaboration in health services by encouraging collaborative approach in education, training and research," HE al-Qahtani said.
"We are looking for tangible results that benefit both parties. SCH is proud of establishing an international networking with a prominent institute such as Institut Pasteur and its network that enables exploration of new horizons for advancement of knowledge on all levels.”
Prof. Brechot described the agreement as timely as team leaders of Pasteur Institute are gathering in Paris with directors of Qatar Biomedical Research Institute and Qatar National Research Fund to define a scientific co-operation consistent with the epidemiological reality of the region and the needs of the people of Qatar.
"The institute is organising two training sessions in March and June, open not only to physicians but to all medical staff, to mark the urgency of the topics we are tackling together with the Ministry of Public Health, such as Mers-Corona virus," he said.
Ambassador Chevallier stated that the MoUwill lead to synergistic actions in education, in research and in the diagnosis of infectious disease, a topic of utmost importance for the population of Qatar.
"This MoU is the first step to further actions to be developed in the long term on the investigation on infectious diseases and other health issues of importance for the region.”
The Institut Pasteur is a private, non-profit foundation with recognised charitable status entrusted with four core missions of public interest – research, education, public health, and augment the value of scientific research via technology transfer and industrial partnerships.