UAE and Egypt to strengthen trade relations, boost bilateral exports

UAE and Egypt have agreed to strengthen trade relations and boost bilateral exports between the two countries through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal Export Credit company and the Export Credit Guarantee Company of Egypt (ECGE).

The agreement, signed by Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI and Mohamed Azzam, Managing Director of ECGE in the presence of senior officials from both institutions, further cements the strong non-oil trade relationship between UAE and Egypt. 

UAE-Egypt non-oil trade in 2018 amounted to AED20.1 billion, a 14.6 per cent growth compared to AED17.6 billion in 2017 indicating a strong overall strategic partnership between the two countries, according to data released by the UAE Ministry of Economy.

Furthermore, the UAE ranks first globally in terms of investments in Egypt with total FDI amounting to AED24.3 billion reflecting the activity of 990 Emirati companies that invested in Egypt at the end of 2018. Egypt, on the other hand, ranks 28th globally in terms of investing in the UAE with total FDI valued at AED3.3 billion during the same period.

Commenting on the strategic cooperation between ECI and ECGE, Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI said: “Taking into account the very strong non-oil trade relations between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, this agreement will pave the way for the identification and development of more business opportunities. ECI’s partnership with ECGC will not only reinforce the existing partnership between the two countries but will also boost the regional and global competitiveness of local businesses.”

Meanwhile, Mohamed Azzam, Managing Director, ECGE emphasised: “Egypt is the UAE’s sixth-leading trading partner in the region while the UAE is Egypt’s second-leading trading partner. These are indicators of the strong and deep relationship shared between the UAE and Egypt. For ECGE, the MoU offers optimistic prospects for SMEs and businesses looking to enter high-growth markets through a broad suite of trade credit solutions.”

The alliance was formed during the UAE-Egypt Business Forum, organised by the UAE Ministry of Economy, in partnership with UAE International Investors Council and UAE-Egypt Business Council. The forum, which featured Massimo Falcioni as a keynote speaker, aims to provide businesses based in both countries with requisite market knowledge and business networks.

This partnership which was signed during the UAE – Egypt Investor’s Forum, which was organised by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the UAE Investor’s Council, and the Egypt-UAE Business Council, which aims to provide market information and build communication network for businesses in the two countries.  Under this alliance, both ECI and ECGE will create a collaborative task force to explore trade, collaborate on technical and economic matters through dedicated work streams that include: insurance, reinsurance, collections cooperation; exchange of commercial information and credit opinion; technical training programs; Halal industry & Shariah-compliant insurance and finance solutions; trade promotional activities such as events and workshops; facilitating access of SMEs by identifying specific solutions on both the export and investment fields; sharing expertise and best practices on a reciprocal basis in commercial underwriting, risk management, country assessment, claims and recovery, among others.