International Humanitarian City

The Dubai International Humanitarian City is a specialized economic zone, which serves as the center of international logistics for distribution of humanitarian cargoes. A dozen of institutions, which are members of the United Nations and the Red Cross, and also more than fifty commercial and non-governmental organizations, involved in the provision of humanitarian aid to all parts of the world, carry on their activity on the territory of the International Humanitarian City (IHC) Free Zone in UAE. The economic zone has become an ideal platform for a variety of industries and segments of the economy – from the logistics solutions and education to research activity.

International Humanitarian City: the humanitarian bridge connecting East and West

It should be noted that the IHC Free Zone, in legal terms, is a non-profit, non-religious and free from politics organization. The economic zone is designed to provide the optimal conditions for the work of international humanitarian organizations and institutions. This applies to the organizations which are involved in the recovery processes of aftermaths of natural disasters and providing humanitarian aid in the places of military conflicts and civil wars.

The International Humanitarian City economic zone in UAE, as the jurisdiction, is actively increasing and fully complies with the pace of development of the national economy. The international partners can count on a large selection of supporting tools and services for business support. It is not a secret that due to the strategic location of the Emirate, it is an ideal base for exploration of the markets of South Asia, Africa and India.

The mission of the international humanitarian project consists in the following conception:

providing the leading international humanitarian organizations and institutions with the necessary infrastructure and solutions in the field of logistics and also with the administrative and management support;
provision the United Nations and the International non-governmental organizations with a reliable platform for carrying out their international activity;
coordination of actions and effective cooperation between humanitarian organizations and institutions.

Since the time of its foundation in 2003, the UAE IHC Free Zone has become the largest, in the region and in the world, logistics center and base for all international humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Business advantages of the IHC Free Zone

A number of objective factors can be singled out among the main features and competitive advantages of the IHC jurisdiction, in particular:

loyalty and maximum support of the state;
stable national currency and the absence of bureaucratic barriers;
a wide range of the world-renowned suppliers;
possibility of obtaining visas for employees and close members of their families;
advanced technologies and achievements in the field of international logistics;
sea and air transport hubs which meet the highest international standards;
political and economic stability, and also a high standard of living;
perfect infrastructure;
relatively low rates for different commodity groups and low tariffs.

Registration and incorporation of the international companies

In accordance with the norms of the current corporate law in UAE registration of the international companies or incorporation of representative offices is carried out in International Humanitarian City under the following conditions:

companies, which are registered or have already undergone the procedure of incorporation on the territory of the Free Zone, are fully exempted from the tax payments to the budget;
no need to involve the local sponsor or partner, the possibility of 100% foreign ownership of business;
the Board of the company distributes profits and dividends independently;
the investor always has the possibility to bring the investment assets and the earned revenues outside the jurisdiction with no restrictions;
the international companies are provided with the import and export privileges.

Services for potential investors

The economic zone offers a wide range of special services and tools to optimize a lot of labour processes. Among them there are office premises, meeting rooms, administrative functions, a full set of public services, portals and tools for involving volunteers and qualified personnel, organization of public events and promotions, and also a press-cutting service.

The following tools are available for potential investors:

vast storage facilities, including refrigerating chambers for storage of medicines and perishable products;
residential campuses, office premises and an appropriate business infrastructure;
ability to obtain a license both for a commercial company, and a humanitarian organization;
assistance in the staff recruitment by providing an access to the databases of the valid vacancies and etc.

The registration of a company in the International Humanitarian City jurisdiction in UAE presumes the following types of activity and legal forms of legal entities:

Non-profit organizations:

representative offices of the United Nations and the Red Cross;
non-governmental organizations;
charitable foundations and specialized agencies;
research, news and education services of the UN.

Commercial companies:

suppliers or producers of certain commodity groups, services for the needs of humanitarian agencies and organizations.

In conclusion, we would like to note that the staff of the Free Zone International Humanitarian City is in perfect security and can make the full use of the modern urban infrastructure, cafés and restaurants, entertainment and shopping areas. The whole territory of the economic zone is guarded round the clock, and all the objects are under the video surveillance, which provides the highest level of security.