President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has conferred the Independence Order of First Class on Dr. Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, in recognition of his supportive contributions to the health sector in the UAE and for the establishment of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

While presenting the order to Dr. Cosgrove, during a ceremony at Al Bahr Palace on Sunday, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, expressed his gratitude to Dr Cosgrove for his constructive effort and co-operation in launching the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

"Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Cosgrove and his team, the clinic has evolved and grown to join the world's best healthcare providers with state-of-the-art amenities in the region,'' His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed and Dr. Cosgrove exchanged talks about the UAE leadership's vision for improving curative services and the need for benefiting from other experiments and co-operation for setting up successful companies and projects. H.H. Sheikh Mohamed also wished him success in his future assignment.

Dr. Cosgrove thanked President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed and Sheikh Mohamed for honouring him. He also lauded the UAE's commitment to developing a world-class health sector.

The award ceremony was attended by H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President,Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority (EAA), Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, and Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Chairman of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. .