UAE's ECI signs pact with Turk Eximbank to boost trade and commercial ties

The two export credit agencies will work together to ease access to credit insurance and project financing

The UAE's ECI and Turkey's Turk Eximbank export credit agency will work together to ease access to credit insurance and project financing. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Etihad Credit Insurance, the UAE federal export credit agency, signed a preliminary agreement with Turkey’s export credit agency Turk Eximbank to enhance trade and boost business and commercial relations between the two countries.

Under the agreement, the agencies will work together to ease access to credit insurance and project financing, ECI said in a statement on Thursday.

The state-owned entities will also collaborate on easing trade and export of their respective domestic businesses by organising joint workshops, forums and business-to-business meetings, especially in growth sectors such as steel, aluminium, health care, renewable energy and chemical, among others.

“This agreement will usher in a new era of increased trade relations and exceptional investment opportunities for businesses in the UAE and Turkey,” said ECI's chief executive Massimo Falcioni, who signed the agreement in Istanbul.

“Improving the economic and trade horizons through close partnerships will certainly result in doubling the volume of trade exchanges and greater stability for both countries.”

The agreement comes as the UAE and Turkey officially commence talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) to reinforce trade and investment relations and intensify economic recovery and growth across the region. The Cepa talks follow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the UAE in February, where he met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

The agreement will also boost the prospective Cepa between the two countries and “support the UAE’s strategy to double the size of its economy and empower the country’s progressive vision for the next 50 years”, Mr Falcioni said.

Turkey is the UAE’s seventh-largest trading partner. Non-oil trade between the two countries rose 82 per cent to Dh49.4 billion ($13.45bn) last year compared with the pre-pandemic level of Dh27.1bn in 2019, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy data.

In November, the UAE established a Dh36.73bn fund to support investments in Turkey to increase its support for the Turkish economy with a focus on strategic sectors such as energy, health and food security.

“By collaborating with the UAE’s federal export credit company, we look forward to enhancing our local and international trade as well as instilling confidence in our business community with ideal insurance protection,” said Ali Guney, chief executive of Turk EximBank.

“Together, we’ll also explore the prospects of joint projects in rapidly growing industries such as renewable energy, reinforcing the efforts towards building a more sustainable world.”