International News Channel Looks At How Dubai Based Companies are Aiding the Fight Against COVID-19

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 13th May 2020:  Dubai based businesses, The Arab Fashion Council, Emirates Sky Cargo and DP World are having to adapt and change business plans as a result of  COVID-19,  and have become an integral part of supplying essential supplies to the world during the pandemic. 

Europe’s leading international news channel, Euronews met with the Dubai-based companies for an exclusive Business Line interview, to discover how they are adapting their business models to meet the urgent global demand for essential goods, and life-saving medical supplies.

Nabil Sultan, Regional VP for Cargo at Emirates SkyCargo, the airline that moves the most weight in freight internationally in the world said: “We literally had to create this cargo network within three weeks. We bring in the cargo to Dubai and then from Dubai, we use our passenger capacity, which ranges almost from 20 to 40 tonnes. Then we get a lot of these products literally across the world. To Europe alone, we operate almost 60 flights per week to 10 destinations.” (sic)
Also adapting business operations quickly to tackle the pandemic, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of one of the world’s largest port operators, DP World said: “We took steps to protect 15,000 people in the ports. Their role is more vital now to be healthy. Segregation, the wearing of gloves, wearing masks and most importantly, really implementing all the regulations in each country. In certain areas, there are lockdowns and so to go around that we moved the people to live near the port, provided accommodation, we looked after their families.” (sic)

Also responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with a change of business direction is The Arab Fashion Council who has launched the #threadforacause campaign, which focuses on repurposing clothing manufacturing facilities for the production of personal protective equipment.

Speaking to Euronews, Dubai-based fashion designer, Marmar Halim who is responsible for producing surgical masks as part of The Arab Fashion Council initiative said: “We are calculating from 10 to 20 thousand masks per day. We want to give more and more. We have to provide people whatever they need to protect themselves.” (sic)

The full interview, exclusive to Euronews, is available to watch on Business Line, the programme that combines top business stories of the week from Dubai, with a wider analysis on global business news and technological developments. 

Euronews is Europe's number one international news channel, currently delivering 24/7 news to almost 400 million TV households in 160 countries. Euronews reaches 141 million people every month and is available in 12 distinct language editions and has a strong presence on digital platforms.