Mubadala Investment Company, through its healthcare arm, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Nirvana Travel and Tourism to collaborate on projects that will support a key Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 objective of establishing the emirate as a leading medical tourism destination.

The areas of collaboration will focus on potential visitors from the GCC, Mena, Russia, China and India, and will include aspects such as creating attractive and all-inclusive medical tourism packages, as well as exploring joint marketing and business opportunities.

Commenting on the collaboration, Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, head of Mubadala Healthcare, said: “By working together, Mubadala and Nirvana can ensure that patients will experience only the highest standards across the full spectrum of treatment and travel, thus helping cement Abu Dhabi’s reputation as the destination of choice for healthcare.”

Alaa Al Ali, Nirvana CEO, said: “Abu Dhabi’s huge investments into medical tourism have significantly boosted the sector and created numerous opportunities for us to enhance it. Cooperation between government agencies and partnership with the private sector contribute to making the capital a viable international medical hub. Nirvana and Mubadala will work together to meet the needs of patients drawn from abroad thus complementing Mubadala’s efforts to enhance the local healthcare sector utilising existing healthcare expertise and the advanced infrastructure found here.”

Al Ali added: “Abu Dhabi attracts patients from more than 80 countries, which demonstrates the exceptional growth in the capital. We are optimistic and eager to make Abu Dhabi a key strategic market player worldwide, by keeping track of medical trends and factors that fuel the development of the medical tourism sector.”

The partnership between medical and tourism entities follows the example set by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health and Department of Culture and Tourism. As part of their collaboration, the departments have jointly set up a patient portal that will serve as a one‐stop shop where potential medical tourists can find useful information on the healthcare providers and medical tourism packages, to visa applications and accommodation.

Al Shamsi added: “Through its tremendous support and by focusing on the combination of superior medical care and Abu Dhabi’s highly regarded tourism industry, the government has established a framework for extensive cooperation between stakeholders that will secure the emirate’s position as a leading medical tourism destination."

“This is the first of many partnerships we intend to establish to promote sustainable growth in medical tourism, in line with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and efforts to diversify our economy,” he said.

Mubadala's integrated healthcare network includes Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Healthpoint, Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, National Reference Laboratory, Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre, Capital Health Screening Centre and Amana Healthcare. Mubadala Healthcare has plans for continued expansion to better serve an increasing number of domestic and international patients. - TradeArabia News Service