19 – 20 June 2025, Geneva, Switzerland – The Centre for Global Studies (CGS) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) attended and actively contributed to the 2025 edition of the Health 20 Summit (H20), organized annually by the G20 and G7 Health and Development Partnership, and co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
On this occasion, CGS was represented by H.E Amb. Dr. Abdulsalam AlMadani, Chairman of CGS and PAM Roving Ambassador for the GCC.
Since its inception alongside the first G20 Health Ministers Meeting in Germany in 2017, the H20 Summit has evolved into a key forum for shaping the global health and development agenda. The 2025 edition contributed to defining priorities for the forthcoming G20 cycle, commencing in 2026 under the presidency of the United States.
CGS benefitted from contributions of several distinguished speakers, including Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General; H.E. Dr. Jaleela bint Alsayed Jawad Hasan, Minister of Health of the Kingdom of Bahrain; H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC; H.E. Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Public Health Affairs and Former Minister of Health of Qatar; H.E. Prof. Orazio Schillaci, Minister of Health of Italy; Dr. Pakishe Aaron (PA) Motsoaledi, Minister of Health of South Africa; Eng. Khaled Al Attar, Director General of DIHAD and Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of GAVI.
PAM maintains an excellent relationship with the G20 and G7 Health and Development Partnership, further strengthened through high-level bilateral engagements, most notably on the occasion of the inaugural hearing of the Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Legislators’ Initiative, held in March 2025. On that occasion, both organizations expressed their mutual intention to formalize their collaboration through the formalization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
On the occasion of the H20 Summit, and in the presence of H.E. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, an important Letter of Intent was signed by H.E. Amb. Dr. AlMadani, and Mr. Allan Donnelly, Chairman and Founder of G20 & G7 Health and Development Partnership.
The Letter aims at launching and implementing a series of impactful initiatives in knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and educational programs, in accordance with the mandates and shared goals of the two institutions.
Looking ahead, CGS will continue to contribute substantively to multilateral dialogue on global health, with a particular focus on One Health, a strategic priority of its research agenda.
This integrated approach has been developed through close collaboration with leading institutional partners, including the Council of Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The outcomes of the H20 Summit will be shared at the fourth High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in September, as well as the G20 Health Ministers and Leaders’ Summit scheduled to take place in South Africa in November. //