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Moritz Hartmann

General Manager, Roche Diagnostics Middle East

Roy Jakobs

CEO, Philips Electronics Middle East and Turkey

Why was Dubai selected as a hub from which to coordinate activities in this part of the world? ROY JAKOBS We are managing 15 countries out of Dubai, covering the […]

Why was Dubai selected as a hub from which to coordinate activities in this part of the world?

ROY JAKOBS We are managing 15 countries out of Dubai, covering the Middle East and Turkey. The reason for that is Dubai’s strong position within the region, offering a good base to operate from. It is a safe place to operate from, and you have convenient access to other countries in the region, and of course the UAE is a growing economy that we can contribute to. There is an immediate market to serve in Dubai and the UAE that we can do very well from here.

To what extent do you work to impart Roche’s know-how in Dubai?

MORITZ HARTMANN The professionals that we have on staff were more or less moved from, or were attracted from, other Roche affiliates around the world to come and work for us here. We intensively support the distribution staff to improve their knowledge and support given to laboratories and staff. They are heavily involved in the training programs that we have, and meanwhile we are also conducting a series of expert talks called Roche Academy, which will ensure that the latest developments in the in vitro diagnostics field are always shared with the end users.

How are you contributing to government regulation?

RJ We helped establish the Middle East Lighting Association (MELA), which is a body that speaks on behalf of all companies in the sector. It is important for energy efficiency rules and regulations to be uniformly supported, so that all parties adjust their products accordingly. If you have multiple standards, it becomes complex and people can’t get the full benefit. Through MELA, we can reach out in a uniform way to the government on how best to establish relevant rules and regulations. We actually hope to take our findings beyond the UAE, and have developed plans for GCC members as well, and Saudi Arabia in particular, with the aim of GCC-wide regulation. We have also liaised with GEMS Education schools to promote awareness of the benefits of energy efficient-lighting, not only on the environment but also on children’s learning and retention. We are keen to take this knowledge to the private sector schools as well.

In the UAE’s Strategic Plan 2015, healthcare has particular significance. How does your company fit into that strategy?

MH There are several points of the plan that I believe we are particularly contributing to, one of which is to ensure service availability, accessibility, and quality. We are helping through both our training support for employees, and for the employees of laboratory service providers, and are also offering many services seen for the first time in the region. Thus, we actively contribute to ensuring that the health system in the UAE meets the standards observable in Europe or the US. The second point is to encourage the international accreditation of hospitals; we actively support this, but cannot provide this service ourselves. However, our products, setting industry standards, largely help hospitals achieve accreditation as we have many standard protocols that can be quickly adopted.

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