IX Congress of the Middle East & African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) concludes

The closing session, held at Sheraton Jumeirah Hotel was attended by HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Ahmed Al Saoud, President of the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and HE Humaid Al Qatami, the UAE Minister of Health, HE Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General, the Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services, and a host of ophthalmologists and dignitaries.

In his speech, HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Ahmed Al Saoud welcomed the attendees and thanked the organizers for their devoted efforts. He said " I have much pleasure to be in the United Arab Emirates and Dubai, a sister country which stands as an oasis of love, peace and prosperity. I would like to extend, on your behalf, my deepest gratitude for HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, and HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, and HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Minister of Finance and Industry of the United Arab Emirates, and HE Humaid Al Qutami, the Minister of Health of the United Arab Emirates, and HE Qhadi Saeed Al Murooshid, the Director General of the Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services, all his staff and those of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, the sponsoring companies and the Scientific Committee. I truly hope that we see an acute decrease in the numbers of the blinds in the region by 2020. I feel obliged to confess that this Congress has been a real success, and we all are proud of this".

Addressing the concluding session, the President of MEACO Dr. Akef Al-Maghraby expressed hope that the Congress would gather more momentum and see the best possible organization next year. He extended his thanks to ALCON Company for its unwavering support to the Congress since its inception and until the 9th meet and even into the future. He expressed confidence that Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Rajihi, the President-elect for the Congress and his colleagues would add to the success of this prestigious scientific event.

The Chairman of the scientific program committee, Dr. Ala'a Al Danasoury addressed the audience thanking them for their keen interest in this international scientific event, and praising the foreign delegations for their attendance contributing to the success of the forum.

Dr. Al Danasoury then announced the winners of the Congress' awards, as follows:
The winner of MEACO Award - Dr. Paolo Peratis
The winner the Best Video Award - Dr. Cesar Morlini (First Ranking), DR. J. Bhaskaran ( Second Ranking), and Dr. Mohammed Faiz Raheem (Third Ranking).
The winner of EPOSTO Award - Dr. Charlie. Kanawati (First Ranking) Dr. Khalil Al Rayyes (Second Ranking), Dr. Arun Kumar (Third Ranking)

On the side lines of the Congress, HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness chaired the meeting held by the Agency, where the participants reviewed the progress of work during the past period and set forth the future plans.