UAE’s MoIAT-ECI deal strives for global competitiveness of industrial sector

Abu Dhabi
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By Arya M Nair, Official Reporter
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The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) and Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to invest funds into the UAE’s industrial sector and support local industrialists.

The new MoIAT-ECI partnership provides a package of financial incentives to support UAE exports, including financing facilities for manufacturers and advanced technology projects, industrial loan guarantees, umbrella insurance for SMEs, and assistance in securing intellectual property rights for startups.

The agreement will allow the two entities to work together to supply products and services to serve major industrial sectors, with a focus on the MoIAT’s National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology’s priority areas.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber
Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology

“The partnership is an important step in boosting the global competitiveness of the UAE’s industrial sector. The array of financial facilities offered through the new partnership will help stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship among the UAE’s leading industrialists as they seek to fully integrate advanced technologies and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions into their production lines.”

They will also establish a permanent task force to implement policies that would help the UAE’s industrial and advanced technology industries thrive.

The Ministry hopes to promote ECI’s trade solutions, which include trade credit insurance, trade finance, export finance, project finance, loan payback, equity insurance for startups and micro-SMEs, and the ‘Click & Cover’ online solution for SMEs.

ECI, in turn, will help in fulfilling Operation 300bn’s goal of boosting the competitiveness of UAE industrial companies in worldwide markets. It has been a catalyst in expanding UAE’s business sector through a range of export credit, financing, and investment insurance products.

ECI improved the competitiveness of UAE non-oil trade and export by issuing 4,039 revolving credit guarantees worth over $680 million, equal to $2 billion in non-oil trade to over 85 countries, as of May 2021, and facilitated trade and project funding through guarantees of $315 million.

Despite the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 epidemic, ECI’s continuous support for UAE trade and export has helped to secure businesses’ cash flows and eased SME access to trade credit, boosting economic recovery. UAE exporters and re-exporters gained access to new markets as a result of these measures.

Related: Sharjah Chambers and EDB unite to support UAE-based manufacturers and SMEs