ABU DHABI: The Red Crescent Authority of the UAE and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) discussed on Monday various areas of cooperation and coordination to facilitate humanitarian operations worldwide.

Both sides discussed a number of issues pertaining to provision of care and support for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon as the UNHCR anticipated an increase in the number of refugees fleeing Syria to neighbouring countries.

The RCA and the UN Refugee Agency also explored practical ways of strengthening partnership in the field of logistics support, transport and humanitarian operations.

The two parties agreed on ensuring easy access to their stockpiles of strategic relief material during crises and emergencies.

UNHCR said that the UAE Red Crescent can benefit from the expertise of the United Nations in the field of storage, logistics, warehouse management and disaster preparedness and crisis.

The meeting held at the UNHCR office in Abu Dhabi was attended by Secretary General of RCA Dr Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, Acting Deputy Secretary General for Relief and Projects Naeema Eid Al Muhairi and Adviser to the RCA Secretary-General Dr Saleh Mousa Al-Tai.

Brigitte Khair Mountain, head of UNHCR’s external relations hub for the GCC in Abu Dhabi, represented the UN Relief Agency at the meeting.

Mountain noted that UNHCR has the largest strategic stockpile of human services in the world at the International Humanitarian City in Dubai.