Day One Evening: Tuesday, 11 May 2004

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GCC-ME Summit I:
Day One, Evening
Day Two, Morning
Day Two, Afternoon
Day Three, Morning
Day Three, Early
Afternoon
The Venue
A Glimpse of Beirut
Partners

GCC-ME Summit II:
Day One, Evening
Day Two, Morning
Day Two, Afternoon
Day Two, Evening
Day Three, Morning
The Venue
Partners

Under the patronage of
HE, the President of the Republic,
President General Emile Lahoud

Opening Reception & Address

The role of the State in healthcare in the Middle East is becoming accepted today, as it is in most countries around the world, as guarantor of a social contract between the general citizenry and the private sector for the provision of quality care. And yet, despite the belief in this role by the population as whole, the private sector is now expected to carry an ever-greater burden in the healthcare continuum. In parallel, the State is expected by the private sector to ease regulations to make this switch possible. How is this transformation proceeding in the countries of the Middle East? Which expectations have been met and which have not? As in many other parts of the world, could technology and innovation here provide an answer?

The Global Medical Forum Foundation comes to the issue with the belief that understanding and truth within the healthcare debate must ultimately win the day. Scientific discovery will always be in mankind's best interest and knowledge learned in one society will always be for the benefit of all societies.

This summit will be an open, honest, and direct discussion of healthcare and innovation in its broadest dimension. It will set the direction of the entire meeting and demonstrate the multiplicity of factors that must be considered when trying to make a constructive impact in the healthcare debate. The speakers are of the very highest level and have made vast contributions through medicine to the welfare of society.

Key questions to be explored in this summit include:

• How do new technologies affect healthcare costs and outcomes?
• What is the proper balance between scientific and social innovation?