Dubai: Dubai Humanitarian and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) today signed a Letter of Intent in Siem Reap, Cambodia, marking a major milestone in enhancing joint humanitarian action across Southeast Asia.
According to Emirates News Agency, the agreement sets the foundation for strategic cooperation between the two entities to bolster emergency preparedness and response efforts across ASEAN Member States impacted by natural disasters and other humanitarian crises. The signing reflects a shared commitment to building resilient, sustainable, and agile systems for disaster relief in one of the world's most disaster-prone regions.
The Letter of Intent outlines a collaborative framework across two key pillars. The first pillar, Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Relief Solutions, will facilitate coordinated relief operations, explore the loan of critical relief items, and support the AHA Centre's Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN (DELSA). It also envisions joint innovation initiatives in the humanitarian supply chain to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of emergency responses.
The second pillar, Knowledge Sharing and Outreach, involves collaboration to exchange best practices in sustainability, carbon reduction, and operational excellence. The agreement enables co-hosted training programs and symposiums, focusing on enhancing local response capabilities and knowledge transfer across public and private sectors. It also emphasizes joint visibility efforts, including public awareness campaigns and participation in regional humanitarian events to promote collaboration for a Global Safety Net.
Giuseppe Saba, CEO and Board Member of Dubai Humanitarian, highlighted the importance of this partnership, stating that the growing frequency and complexity of disasters demand smarter, more collaborative responses. He emphasized that the partnership is rooted in understanding the need to deliver aid while co-creating solutions to build local capacity, reduce vulnerability, and adapt to evolving risks.
The AHA Centre expressed excitement about collaborating with Dubai Humanitarian, aligning with their vision to create a well-connected and resilient ASEAN community capable of swift and effective disaster response. Executive Director of the AHA Centre, Lee Yam Ming, noted that this collaboration marks their first formal partnership with a Middle Eastern organization in disaster management, reflecting a shared commitment to building stronger regional and global humanitarian networks. Through this partnership, they aim to realize the vision of One ASEAN, One Response with a shared commitment to building a disaster-resilient ASEAN community.