The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) and the HOPE Consortium on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of supporting the UAE's global humanitarian efforts to mitigate the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the MoU seeks to ensure the provision of rapid logistics solutions for the transportation of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, personal protection gear, hospital equipment to help countries across the world in curbing the spread of the virus. Under the MoU, the ERC and Hope Consortium will also provide other necessary forms of health-related assistance to those in need.

According to the MoU, the HOPE Consortium will facilitate the delivery of ERC medical aid to beneficiary countries by providing related services including transportation, storage, and shipping. The Hope Consortium will also cooperate with the ERC to provide other humanitarian and development requirements to countries in need.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, ERC Secretary-General and Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chairman of the HOPE Consortium Executive Committee and Group CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports at the ERC headquarters in the presence of senior officials from both sides.

During the signing, Dr. Al Falahi underlined that the MoU reflects the vision of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the ERC, to establish partnerships between local companies and institutions with the aim of uniting their efforts to fulfill humanitarian goals and programmes across the world.

Dr. Al Falahi added that the MoU comes in line with the goals of the two institutions to coordinate efforts in supporting the UAE's ongoing efforts to help countries struggling to address the challenges posed by the pandemic. He further highlighted that the UAE has emerged as a leading global example in terms of its humanitarian efforts during the pandemic.

In addition, Al Falahi noted that the MoU will provide new opportunities in the ERC-HOPE Consortium partnership to address looming challenges. Furthermore, it will serve as a leading global example in establishing collaborations between local entities in carrying out humanitarian projects and programmes.

For his part, Al Shamisi expressed his happiness in collaborating with the ERC to provide medical aid and other related services to countries in need. He further noted that the collective efforts of both entities will ensure the provision of medical aid to nearly 3.6 billion pandemic-hit people around the world.

WAM