Managing Partner's Foreword

Each Law Update offers a focus spotlighting a sector that is a vital economic pillar and contributor to the evolving socioeconomic landscape across the region.Contents

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Law Update: Issue 364 - Healthcare & Life Sciences Focus

Welcome to this
month’s Law Update

Welcome to the first edition of Law Update for 2024.

Over the next 12 months, Law Update will provide you with legal developments and insights from across the Middle East and North Africa. Our objective is to keep you regularly informed about the latest regulatory updates that are crucial to you and your business, and through the pages of Law Update we share with you timely and accurate information to help you navigate the complex legal landscape of the region.

Each Law Update offers a focus spotlighting a sector that is a vital economic pillar and contributor to the evolving socioeconomic landscape across the region. Throughout the year we will cover sectors such as Financial Services, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Education, Retail, and Energy, to name a few. The first focus of the year is on the Healthcare sector, and the launch of this edition coincides with Arab Health 2024, a regional event focused on driving forward the sector.

The healthcare sector in the Middle East and North Africa is undergoing significant growth and development. With a growing population and an increasing demand for quality healthcare services, countries in the region are investing heavily in their healthcare infrastructure. Governments are working to improve access to healthcare and are encouraging private sector participation to help drive innovation and improve service delivery.

Additionally, the rise of medical tourism in the region is also contributing to the progression of the healthcare sector, and I believe it has the capability to become a leading global healthcare destination.

Outside the healthcare focus pages, Law Update features a series of articles that provide a unique insight into important multi sector regulatory developments. In this edition you will read about the Kuwaiti civil code, there is commentary on the advantages of setting up a simplified joint stock company in Saudi Arabia, we provide an overview of the commercial agencies law in Bahrain, and we highlight a new regulatory framework for start-ups in Dubai’s DIFC. That’s not all, in each edition we share with you judgements we have advised on, this provides real-life context to our work and the legal landscape across the region.

I hope you enjoy the first Law Update of 2024; it is packed full of insightful and interesting legal updates. Should you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or any of the lawyers who have contributed to this issue.