Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) held its third meeting in 2022, chaired by Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ECI.

The meeting focused on the review of a series of ECI’s comprehensive programmes and initiatives, which are aligned with the National Agenda of bolstering the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade and increasing national exports by 50 per cent over the next few years as part of the ‘Projects of the 50’.

During the meeting, Al Marri commended ECI’s relentless commitment to protecting foreign investments of local businesses and its efforts to enhance UAE exports, ensuring their access to new international markets, which cements the unique position of the UAE in the international trade map.

He continued, “With the support and directives of our wise leadership, The UAE has achieved significant milestones at the regional and global levels, establishing its position as a leading hub of trade and investment in the region.”

“We continue our efforts to expand and diversify our economy by improving the competitiveness of the business environment with a special focus on emerging industries and SMEs and enabling them to launch from the UAE and prepare them to expand and compete in the global markets.”

“Etihad Credit Insurance plays a major role in supporting the national vision ensuring the growth of domestic trade and businesses, as well as meeting the requirements of sustainable economic development by contributing substantially to various government initiatives such as ‘Make in the Emirates’ and ‘Operation 300 billion projects.”

He was also briefed on ECI’s exceptional performance in the first nine months of 2022. As of September 2022, ECI facilitated more than Dhs6.3 billion in value, equivalent to Dhs16.6 billion non-oil trade total guaranteed exposure to businesses located in the UAE that have exported to 111 countries.

With the complete support and guidance of the government, ECI has by far issued 7,936 revolving credit guarantees. These state-backed guarantees helped to protect and create 50,000 jobs by supporting companies, 72 per cent of which were SMEs.

Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Deputy Chairman of ECI Board of Directors, said, “With the forward-looking vision of the wise leadership, Etihad Credit Insurance has been one of the major catalysts in reaching a historical performance in the UAE non-oil foreign trade.

“The Federal export credit company is pivotal in our trade expansion strategy by supporting the growth of local businesses, as a great stimulus in job creation and contributing to the doubling of the country’s economy by 2030.” Omar Ahmed Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, said, “The recent surge in UAE’s non-oil trade is a testament to Etihad Credit Insurance’s proactive approach toward economic diversification and sustainable development.

“Facilitating local businesses’ easy access to an innovative range of export insurance and financing solutions, ECI helps businesses of any size and scale to grow overseas.

WAM