Focus on medical advancement: Israel, Iran to send plastic surgeons to UAE conference

(Karachi) In a latest development, Israel has decided to send its representatives to a medical conference for plastic surgeons being held in Dubai later this month, Jerusalem Post reported. For the first time, Iranian and Israeli medical professionals will participate together in bid to find ways for medical advancement.

As per details, the aim of conference will be to focus on advancements in plastic surgery and reconstructive treatments. The conference will commence according to the UAE's current public health protocols. The event is being hosted by The Emirates Plastic Surgery Society, and will take place over three days during the last week of January.

Boosting ties

Commenting on the matter, The Israel Society of Plastic & Aesthetic Surgery Chairman Dr. Meir Cohen said: "Our participation in this conference will add to the already strong bond between the two countries."

He added, "This relationship is developing in the exchange of knowledge, in experimentation, and can even grow into the ability to complete training courses overseas [in the UAE]."

Cohen maintained that it is fascinating that even though the UAE observes strict modesty laws, the public is still quite interested in the myriad of ways that they can change how they look, in efforts to boost their self-esteem. "This is where the field of plastic surgery shines," he stated.

Breaking longstanding taboo

A few months ago, the UAE and Bahrain signed agreements to normalize relations with Israel, becoming the latest Arab states to break a longstanding taboo in a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran.

US President Donald Trump hosted the White House ceremony, capping a dramatic month when first the UAE and then Bahrain agreed to reverse decades of ill will without a resolution of Israel's decades-old dispute with the Palestinians.

The deals, denounced by the Palestinians, make them the third and fourth Arab states to take such steps to normalize ties since Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

The pact which brought Israel, the UAE and Bahrain together reflects their shared concern about Iran's rising influence in the region and development of ballistic missiles. Iran has been critical of the agreement.

Since the deal was struck, Israelis who were banned from traveling on foreign passports to the Arab world, have made themselves at home in the UAE’s commercial hub. Scores undeterred by Israel’s warnings about possible Iranian attacks in the region have celebrated weddings, bar mitzvahs and the eight-day Jewish festival of Hanukkah with large gatherings banned back home.

Data collected from travel agents revealed that at least 70,000 Israeli tourists arrived in Dubai on 15 nonstop daily flights in December 2020.