Etihad Credit Insurance, ECI, the UAE Federal Credit Insurance Company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Export Credit Insurance Corporation, ECIC, the South African Export Credit Agency, to explore, strengthen and enhance the bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries
DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 27th Jun, 2019) Etihad Credit Insurance, ECI, the UAE Federal Credit Insurance Company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Export Credit Insurance Corporation, ECIC, the South African Export Credit Agency, to explore, strengthen and enhance the bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries.
The agreement was signed by Massimo Falcioni, CEO of the ECI, and Kutoane, CEO of the ECIC, during the UAE-South Africa Business Forum held at the Africa trade week in Johannesburg in the presence of senior officials from both the organisations.
The UAE delegation was headed by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy and Deputy Chairman of the ECI board of Directors.
Under the agreement, both institutions will come together to form a cooperative task force to explore trade, technical and economic collaborations that are based on defined areas of interest. These include SME programmes; investment and globalisation; market intelligence and business practices; insurance, co-insurance collections; and trade shows, events, and forums.
Falcioni said, "This partnership creates a common base for both nations to explore and enhance trade and economic cooperation. ECI’s mission, which reinforces the UAE’s Vision 2021, focuses on building a diversified and innovation-driven economy. And this collaboration with the ECIC will help UAE businesses set their foot in international markets by providing them access to a multitude of business practices along with trade insurance and financial solutions."
Kutoane noted, "The alliance between the ECI and the ECIC will be an important milestone for the UAE-South Africa trade relations. The ECIC has always worked towards providing export credit and investment insurance solutions supporting local businesses by applying the best practices in risk management. By offering comprehensive and substantial insurance coverage to local businesses, this will enable them to access new markets and compete effectively on an international level with adequate security."
According to the UAE Ministry of Economy statistics, the non-oil foreign trade between the two countries recorded a significant rise of 23 percent in 2017 to US$3.2 billion, from $2.6 billion in 2016. The report also highlighted that during the first five months of 2018, the non-oil trade between the two countries increased to $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion for the corresponding period in 2017.
