Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal Credit Insurance Company has partnered with Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC), the South African Export Credit Agency  to enhance bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
 
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI and Kutoane Kutoane, CEO of ECIC during the UAE-South Africa Business Forum organised by the UAE Ministry of Economy and held at Africa trade week in Johannesburg in the presence of senior officials from both the organisations.

The Forum’s mission is to connect exporters and government officials with an opportunity to interact, offer market intelligence, network and establish business opportunities between the UAE and the Republic of South Africa. The UAE delegation was headed by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of ECI.

This ECI-ECIC partnership focuses on enhancing trade and investments, supporting business relations between the Republic of South Africa and the UAE. It allows the exchange of information and the sharing of best practices for proficient cross-border trade.

The agreement will also explore opportunities for insurance, coinsurance for export, share commercial and credit information on buyers, facilitate funds access for SME’s and mid-cap companies, and enhance trade with a focus on Halal industry through Sharia’ complaint and finance solutions.
 
Under this MoU, both institutions will come together to form a cooperative task force to explore trade, technical and economic collaborations that are based on the 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.
 
Massimo Falcioni said, “This partnership is a big step towards enhancing the existing cordial relations between the UAE and the Republic of South Africa. The alliance between ECI and ECIC will certainly support in harnessing the tremendous opportunities for local businesses.

“It creates a common base for both nations to explore and enhance trade and economic cooperation. ECI’s mission, which reinforces UAE’s Vision 2021, focuses on building a diversified and innovation-driven economy. And this collaboration with ECIC will help UAE businesses to set their foot in international markets by providing them access to a multitude of business practices along with trade insurance and financial solutions.”
 
Kutoane Kutoane stated: “The alliance between ECI and ECIC will be an important milestone for the UAE-South Africa trade relations. ECIC has always worked towards providing export credit and investment insurance solutions supporting local businesses by applying 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, from $2.6 billion in 2016 to $3.2 billion. 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. – TradeArabia News Service