Company Donates $500,000 For Middle East Humanitarian Relief

September 29, 2006 edition

Our Company announced on September 27 plans to donate $500,000 for Middle East humanitarian aid. The funds will be directed through the American Red Cross to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to assist vulnerable communities and to address the crisis caused by recent conflict in the Middle East.

Muhtar Kent, President of Coca-Cola International, said the donation is based on the IFRC’s impeccable credibility and expertise in almost 190 countries worldwide as an impartial humanitarian organization with an outstanding record of operations in disaster prevention, preparedness and relief. The IFRC will support the needs of evacuees who are returning to their communities.

Our Company has a long-standing tradition of contributing to humanitarian relief efforts. In 2005, the Company and its bottlers donated more than $15 million to the IFRC and other agencies for disaster relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts around the world, including areas affected by the tsunami in Asia and Hurricane Katrina along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Company has also been involved in post-disaster reconstruction through community-based water and sanitation projects in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The Company donated $1 million to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society and $1 million to the Government of Pakistan Reconstruction Fund, as part of its contribution to relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in Pakistan and India. On Sept. 21 in Washington D.C., the Company received the "Star of Dedicated Service" from President Pervez Musharraf in appreciation for the system's prompt relief efforts.