Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI, the UAE International Investor Council (UAEIIC), Dubai Exports, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA and Confindustria, an Italian industrial confederation, recently discussed collaborations in various fields.

The focus included increasing exports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and trade finance support between the UAE and Italy.

The high-level discussion is in line with Italy’s objective of promoting ‘Made in Italy’ products across the world and attract FDI in the European country and it is also consistent with the recently launched ‘Make it in the Emirates’ initiative that encourages local and international investors to fulfil their ambitions of developing, manufacturing and exporting their products from the UAE.

The core agenda of the meeting was focused on identifying joint strategies to boost the trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. It also cements the long-standing relationship that the UAE and Italy share through the exchange of knowledge and economic expertise in promoting business opportunities and helping local investors to establish or expand their operations in the post-Covid phase.

The meeting also reviewed the latest updates regarding the existing partnerships between the state export credit agencies of both countries. In October 2018, ECI and SACE SIMEST signed an MOU at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) in Rome, followed by a reinsurance agreement to support Italian businesses operating in the UAE, signed in April 2019 in Dubai. With this agreement, Italian companies and their active subsidiaries in the UAE were able to protect their business, mitigate risks, and concretely improve the management of financial flows.

Saed Al Awadi CEO of Dubai Exports & Chairman of the Executive Committee of ECI, said: “The UAE and Italy have always had strong trade relations over the years, and this strategic meeting reflects the keenness of both nations to enhance the competitive advantage of our respective business sectors in the international markets.”

Carlo Ferro, President of Italian Trade Agency, said: "The traditional friendship and commercial relations between our two countries push us to improve our relations more and more, both through a deeper knowledge and through the implementation of synergies and partnerships and through the sharing of best practices, in order to promote the excellence of Italian products and services. For this reason, ITA and Confindustria will organize, as soon as conditions permit, a UAEIIC visit to Italy to deepen their knowledge of our country and the reality of our business system”.

Barbara Beltrame Giacomello, Board Member and Vice President for International Affairs at Confindustria, stated: “Despite the strong relations between Italy and UAE, there is still a great potential to be explored and Expo 2020 Dubai would be the first occasion to relaunch Italian presence in the Menasa Region in the post pandemic period. In EAU path of diversification and growth, our entrepreneurial system, with the right institutional and financial support, can truly be a strategic partner of reference for UAE companies.”

Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI, said: “The outlook for bilateral trade looks bright between these two countries. In 2020, Italy was the main European trade partner of the UAE, with AED 37.1 billion ($10.1 billion) of trade value. The UAE has been keen to continuously enhance its existing trade relations with Italy by building partnerships focused on innovation and SMEs, thereby boosting the contribution of these sectors in the country’s GDP.” – TradeArabia News Service