Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates and International Humanitarian City (IHC), the world’s largest hub for humanitarian aid, have signed an MoU to cooperate on humanitarian logistics and crisis relief solutions. The MoU was signed by Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo and Giuseppe Saba, CEO, International Humanitarian City.

The partnership between the two entities underlines Dubai’s position as an international gateway for the rapid deployment of aid and relief efforts directed at humanitarian crises.

Under the terms of the MoU, Emirates SkyCargo and IHC will work together to develop innovative logistics solutions for effective crisis relief operations. IHC will also approach Emirates SkyCargo as the air cargo carrier of first resort for transportation or urgently required aid materials to affected destinations. In addition, the two organisations will work together to share know-how and develop best practices around the transportation of specialised cargo for relief efforts.

“We are a carrier with a strong sense of social responsibility. Over the years, Emirates SkyCargo has operated a number of flights and transported relief cargo on behalf of International Humanitarian City in response to humanitarian disasters and crises around the world, including most recently in the aftermath of the explosions at Beirut. Today, we are delighted to consolidate our partnership and develop a platform which will enable a more coherent and rapid response for aid delivery, and facilitate the development of robust and innovative solutions for humanitarian emergency response. With our wide-body aircraft fleet and our global network centred in Dubai, we look forward to supporting International Humanitarian City as their preferred carrier for delivering aid to affected communities around the globe,” said Nabil Sultan.

“I would like first to express all of my appreciation to Emirates SkyCargo for their support in the past for IHC and its community,” said Giuseppe Saba. “A special thanks goes to the leadership of Emirates for the initiative taken immediately after the blast in Beirut, by launching the initiative for supporting the Lebanese population and facilitating many airlifts of humanitarian aid with favourable rates. I’m honoured to sign this MoU, which is a milestone for further expansion of new possibilities which started with the Lebanon initiative. It transforms our cooperation into something which goes beyond the use of the air assets and the large reach of Emirates SkyCargo, which still logistically represents a crucial worldwide network for the IHC Community in emergency response. The high standards and excellent service delivery of Emirates SkyCargo will continue to add a lot of value to the IHC community crisis response mechanism and our synergies will enable us to work together for One Humanity,” he added.

During the month of August, Emirates launched a humanitarian initiative, creating an airbridge between Dubai and Beirut to facilitate transportation of aid material in the aftermath of the explosions at the Port of Beirut. Emirates continues to work with local and international NGOs including the IHC for this relief effort, which is also supported by worldwide donations of cash and Emirates Skywards Miles from across the globe through the Emirates Airline Foundation.