DHL Global Forwarding and Turkish Cargo have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation and bilateral relations that would reinforce Turkey's potential as a global logistics hub.
The MoU between the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group and the air cargo brand of Turkish Airlines was signed during the recent IATA World Cargo Symposium which started on April 25 in Istanbul.
"The cooperation between the two global air cargo providers will not only further improve each other's operational efficiency, but also enhance Istanbul's potential to become a leading logistics hub for the world," the MoU announcement said.
Based on the MoU DHL Global Forwarding will leverage SMARTIST — the mega cargo facility of Turkish Cargo at Istanbul Airport — as one of its global hubs which will increase the air cargo traffic handled via Istanbul significantly.
It added that the combination of Turkish Cargo's intercontinental air cargo network with Türkiye's unique geographical advantages enables Turkish Cargo to support DHL Global Forwarding global hub concept with its vast specialized knowledge and advanced operational capabilities at Istanbul Airport.
"Spanning the European and Asian continents, Türkiye is geographically well-positioned to act as a logistics hub for Europe, Asia as well as the MEA region and the US," said Thomas Mack, global head of Air Freight, DHL Global Forwarding.
"We are happy to intensify our long-lasting partnership with Turkish Cargo, which not only provides us with reliable air cargo capacity but also state-of-the-art logistics infrastructure for handling air freight," he added.
Commenting on the MoU, Turhan Özen, chief cargo officer at Turkish Airlines said the integration of SMARTIST, our mega cargo hub, with the global network of DHL Global Forwarding would enhance service quality and strengthen the hub position of Istanbul further.
"This cooperation will also enable us to offer more effective, productive and uninterrupted air cargo service to our customers and add value to the industry upon the establishment of a powerful partnership by and between Turkish Cargo and DHL. We hereby wish that this MoU, which stands out as a great source of pride and excitement to us, be beneficial to both parties thereto," Özen added.
The announcement noted that Turkish Cargo and DHL will also continue to explore new areas for partnership and deepen their cooperation further in future.
