Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE International Investor Council (UAEIIC), Dubai Exports, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and Confindustria, the largest Italian industrial confederation, have discussed cooperation in various fields, including increasing exports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and trade finance support between the UAE and Italy. The high-level discussion is in line with Italy’s objective of promoting ‘Made in Italy’ products across the world and attract FDI in the European country and it is also consistent with the recently launched ‘Make it in the Emirates’ initiative that encourages local and international investors to fulfill their ambitions of developing, manufacturing and exporting their products from the UAE.
The delegation, led by Carlo Ferro, President of ITA and Barbara Beltrame Giacomello, Board Member and Vice President for International Affairs at Confindustria, Amedeo Scarpa Trade Commissioner to the UAE at ITA met in the Dubai Branch of ECI with Saed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports & Chairman of the Executive Committee of ECI, Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary-General, UAEIIC, and Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI, along with senior officials from the entities participating.
The core agenda of the meeting was focused on identifying joint strategies to boost the trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. It also cements the long-standing relationship that the UAE and Italy share through the exchange of knowledge and economic expertise in promoting business opportunities and helping local investors to establish or expand their operations in the post-Covid phase.
The meeting also reviewed the latest updates regarding the existing partnerships between the state export credit agencies of both countries. In October 2018, ECI and SACE SIMEST signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) in Rome, followed by a reinsurance agreement to support Italian businesses operating in the UAE, signed in April 2019 in Dubai. With this agreement, Italian companies and their active subsidiaries in the UAE were able to protect their business, mitigate risks, and concretely improve the management of financial flows.
The outlook for bilateral trade looks bright between these two countries. In 2020, Italy was the main European trade partner of the UAE, with AED 37.1 billion ($10.1 billion) of trade value. The UAE has been keen to continuously enhance its existing trade relations with Italy by building partnerships focused on innovation and SMEs, thereby boosting the contribution of these sectors to the country’s GDP.