The air in Riyadh felt different that week. Quiet anticipation pulsed beneath the city’s steady rhythm as delegations from every corner of the globe arrived to witness Saudi Arabia’s (KSA’s) firm commitment to writing the next chapter of global wellness.

Organised by Tahaluf and held under the patronage of KSA’s Ministry of Health and supported by Vision 2030 and the Health Sector Transformation Program, over four days, Global Health Exhibition (GHE) welcomed over 130,000 attendees, 2,200 exhibiting brands and over 600 healthcare speakers from over 25 countries. Since its first edition in 2017, GHE has seen a 1,500% increase in visitors (including a 54% increase in international attendees from last year’s edition) and a 600% increase in participating brands.

Themed “Invest in Health”, GHE facilitated over $35.5B in deals and partnerships set to drive cross-border healthcare innovation, more than double last year’s figure, reflecting continuing investor confidence in KSA’s healthcare transformation.

This included $8.4B of investment to expand hospital and healthcare infrastructure across KSA. Commitments came from KSA’s Hayat National Hospitals, Mouwasat, Alrajhi Medicine, IMC and SMC Healthcare; the UAE’s Burjeel Holdings; and Morocco’s Akdital Group, which is entering the Saudi market with an over $1.4B investment.

KSA’s healthcare investment ecosystem also received a significant boost, with over $3.2B committed to venture capital and strategic funds to accelerate innovation and localisation. Hillhouse led with an almost $1.5B commitment to support pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D, Al Fozan Holding is investing $675M to develop next-generation clinical infrastructure, and TMV Capital Healthcare and Baraya are expanding their network of rehabilitation hospitals and long-term care facilities with a $405M investment.

In addition, Esnad Financial Company and SEHA Capital are launching a $266M sukuk to bridge financial gaps in healthcare and biotech, GKSD Investment Holding is committing $266M to transform patient care across KSA, and Goldtrack Ventures is establishing KSA’s first industrial biotechnology growth fund with $250M of firepower.

More than $625M of investment was announced in the life sciences sector, including BD’s $266M commitment to localise medical technologies and deliver clinical training. PIF-backed Lifera also entered into several strategic partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi, MSD, Pfizer and Jamjoom Pharma to explore vaccine and biopharmaceutical development and localisation.

In the digital health field, GHE also served as a launchpad for pioneering initiatives. For example, HUMAIN and Lean Business Services have recently received approval from the Saudi Food & Drug Authority to launch the world’s largest AI physician clinical trial. In addition, a nationwide Smart Health Coach, developed in partnership with Google Cloud and available through the Ministry of Health’s Sehhaty app, is set to mark the beginning of a new era of intelligent, personalised healthcare.

KSA has also announced the world’s first digital diabetes command-and-control centre, a nationwide platform to monitor diabetes in real time and enable proactive management. Other innovations include the next generation of Takaad testing centres, delivering rapid, easy-to-access screening through technologically-enabled, drive-through clinics.

In his opening address at GHE, KSA’s Health Minister Fahad AlJalajel summarised the remarkable transformation of KSA’s healthcare landscape driven by Vision 2030. KSA has added five years to the average Saudi lifespan of 74 in 2016, he said, close to the Vision target of 80 years, through targeted interventions such as early screening for newborns and couples, earlier cancer detection, a reduction in deaths from chronic diseases, and a more than halving of traffic accident fatalities.

One of the most widely attended sessions at GHE concluded that health systems must evolve from cost-based models to measure value through outcomes, equity, and accessibility. Matthew Shaw, CEO of Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Dr Majd Abu Zant, CEO of Global Fertility, highlighted how Vision 2030 is already achieving this. In parallel, the Healthcare Innovation Circle co-hosted by Forbes Middle East and KSA’s Health Holding Company convened senior leaders from Roche Diagnostics and BD to discuss the evolution of hospitals. The sentiment that echoed throughout GHE was that the future of healthcare is not reactive, but predictive, and KSA is leading the change.

Delegates also discussed the shift from “lifespan” to “healthspan” – the idea of living not just longer, but better. KSA’s faith-based wellness model, described by Ahmed Aloraij, Chairman of the Health Tourism Association, as a “360-degree experience of healing”, embodies this philosophy, blending spirituality, nature, and innovation into a framework that only the Kingdom could offer.

In a world still recovering from years of health challenges, Saudi Arabia stands out as a leader in the living movement that heralds the next great transformation. Saudi innovators stood proudly at GHE beside their international counterparts presenting bold ideas that promise to change how the world heals and thrives – among them robotic tools for rehabilitation, disease-prevention systems, and mental wellbeing apps. What was once aspiration is now action and results – and we look forward to keeping you updated.