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Dubai / WAM
The UAE- Italy non-oil trade exchange amounted to $7.8 billion in 2017 and exceeded $5.7 bn during the first nine months of 2018, according to Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy.
The minister said this while delivering the inaugural remarks of the Italy-UAE Business Forum which opened on Monday in Dubai in the presence of Luigi Di Maio, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development of Italy.
The two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), in the field of innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and startups. They also attended the signing of another MoU between the Etihad Credit Insurance and joint Italian-Arab Chamber of Commerce on circular economy.
The two MoUs are a step forward on the path towards consolidating cooperation across the sectors outlined by the UAE National Innovation Strategy, namely renewables, transportation, water, education, health and space in addition to other primary sectors prioritised by the Italian side, namely mechanic engineering, FinTech, biotechnology, and medical industry.
The Italy-UAE Business Forum features panel discussions taking place simultaneously on Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Environment and ITC. It’s looking at fresh prospects to cement bilateral trade relations and support the growth and development of the UAE.
“The UAE is Italy’s largest Arab trade partner and the European country is the UAE’s fourth largest European partner and second largest exporter in Europe, according to the 2017 statistics,” Al Mansouri added, noting that UAE exports to Italy grew 7.7 percent during the first nine months of 2018 as compared to the corresponding period in 2017.
For his part, Di Maio underlined Italy’s determination to beef up partnership ties with the UAE, not only in the trade sphere, but also to advance cooperation across all fronts.
“The UAE boasts a strong economy and robust investment potential and we are keen to widen the scope of cooperation in areas like renewable energy, infrastructure, real estate investment, as well as innovation,” he added.
Reinsurance agreement signed
to boost Italian businesses in UAE
Dubai / WAM
Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal credit insurance company, and SACE SIMEST, the Italian export credit company (CDP Group), on Monday signed a reinsurance agreement to support Italian businesses operating in the UAE as part of the ongoing Italy-UAE Business Forum.
Under the pact, ECI will support SACE BT, SACE SIMEST’s company specialised in short term credit insurance, in its mandate to support local subsidiaries of Italian businesses operating in UAE through ECI’s reinsurance solutions.
The signing took place in the presence of Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors at ECI; and Luigi Di Maio, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, and Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Social Policies.
The reinsurance agreement signed by Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI and Alessandro Decio, CEO of SACE, in the presence of senior officials, signifies a tangible follow-through of the MoU signed last year by the two organisations. This partnership further outlines a broader cooperation framework shared between the two export credit companies.
Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI, said, “Italy and the UAE have always enjoyed a long and robust relationship. ECI is honoured to continue this long-standing cooperation between the two countries by collaborating with SACE in supporting Italian businesses to boost their presence in the local marketplace. We will continue to support SACE’s endeavours by sharing our broad suite of solutions along with keen market insights.”
Alessandro Decio, CEO of SACE, said, “We have long built a strong strategic partnership with Etihad Credit Insurance, working together to support investment and trade between our countries, increasing opportunities and mitigating the risks to which Italian companies are exposed while operating on this important market. With this agreement, we will be able to reach even more effectively the Italian companies and their subsidiaries active in the UAE with useful solutions to protect their business and concretely improve the management of financial flows.”
Italy is one of the top ten trading partners of the UAE. In 2018, the bilateral trade between the two countries recorded Euro5.7 billion. Meanwhile, Italy’s exports are estimated to be Euro4.6 billion.