I have always considered myself as a son of Africa. While my heart lies in the Middle East my soul dwells in Africa. My ties to this great continent span over thirty-five years and throughout these years I have had the pleasure of working with many African governments and institutions over the course of my career. Equally, I consider myself as an accidental son of Europe; in particular, I have a deep connection to Italy, a nation that can be considered in many ways as the gateway to Africa.

2020 will forever be known as the year the world changed. The year that the global population truly understood how vulnerable and fragile it is. Yet it also taught us something else. It taught resilience and the importance of cooperation and collaboration among nations. COVID-19 respected no border, no individual and no nation.

However, perhaps the most important lesson that the pandemic has taught us is the critical importance of investing in primary and secondary healthcare systems. Public health spending is largely viewed as a cost, not only by governments but also individual citizens. The ECAM Council aims to raise awareness in both the private and public sector of the fact that healthcare is perhaps the wisest and most important investment that can be made by either individuals or governments. A healthy population means a healthy economy. For example, underfunding in health prevention measures is a huge burden on the economy both in terms of the immediate impact (premature death, chronic illness, etc) and on the future economy as the costs for treating non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes are extremely high.

The ECAM Council vision sees a world where the fundamental pillars of society such as healthcare and education are viewed as economic investments not burdens. When nations spend on healthcare and education they invest in the health of their citizens and healthy citizens result in higher performing students and healthy working adults.

We hope to use our platform to create alliances where we are all kin to each other, a true league of nations that knows no borders but is open to all and refuses no one. What better place to begin our second session than in Rome – a city with historically strong and positive ties to the MENA region, and consequently, the perfect conduit country to Africa.

I have always believed that the business world has a duty to help strengthen national institutions through strategic investments in sectors that provide support and services to the general population. All of my business investments have sought to make at least a small contribution towards a better world, and I have sought to promote greater cooperation and dialogue by recognising the importance of building of bridges. The first edition of the ECAM Council Forum was born from a deep desire to continue this work.