RIYADH — Over 200 members of Pakistan Doctors Group Riyadh (PDGR) gathered here at the Holiday Inn, Olaya, for their annual medical symposium. The very academic theme was “New Trends in the Approach and Management of Thrombocytopenia”.

Two renowned consultant Hematologists from King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC) Dr. Marwan Shaheen and Dr. Shahrukh Hashmi made absorbing presentations that formed the centerpiece of the evening followed by lively question and answer sessions.

Novartis KSA sponsored the event with Dr. Farid Askar and Dr. Mohammad Arsalan, respective hematology and oncology franchise medical heads, attending.

KFSH&RC Chief Transformation Officer Dr. Hassan El-Solh was the chief guest. An enormously accomplished hematologist, academician and administrator in his own right with over 100 publications to his name, Dr. El-Solh gave an overview of how Vision 2030 was set to transform his institution, thus making high quality tertiary level healthcare more widely available to the general population.

Dr. El-Solh also spent some time reflecting upon how Saudi and Pakistani doctors had worked together over many decades to both inaugurate new and substantially improve existing health services in the Kingdom. For this, he received a well-deserved and spontaneous standing ovation from all the men and women present.

Raja Ali Ejaz, Pakistan Ambassador and PDGR patron, also praised his fellow countrymen and women for their constant endeavor to boost Pakistan’s image. He noted their competency and high ethical standards when discharging their professional responsibilities, something he had observed in the USA and UK too, home to tens of thousands of Pakistani doctors.

PDGR President, Dr. AsadUllah Roomi, consultant cardiologist, Prince Sultan Cardiac Centre, rounded off the evening with a vote of thanks. He praised the moderators, PDGR academic secretaries Dr. Tazeem Hussain, internal medicine consultant, King Saud Medical City, and Dr. Shad Ahmed, hematology consultant, KFSH&RC, together with the executive body for a well- organized and well-received event.

A concluding prayer was delivered for the health and welfare of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense. All present wished them fortitude in enacting their benevolent vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. — SG