Etihad Credit Insurance, the national export credit agency of the UAE Federal Government, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) conducted a focus group workshop with Abu Dhabi-based exporters, aimed at listening to UAE exporters’ challenges and needs to boost their competitiveness in global trade.
The workshop outcomes, which was held in the headquarters of the ADCCI, will inspire Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) to identify areas where support is needed, and develop bespoke solutions to mitigate trade and export risks. These are instrumental to drive in more growth for UAE businesses, locally and internationally.
This initiative is the first amongst the many roadshows that Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) will be running together with all chambers of commerce across the UAE.
H.E. Mohammed Hilal Al Muhairi, Director General, ADCCI, pointed out that the cooperation with ECI as the umbrella for UAE exporters cements the commitment of Abu Dhabi Chamber in holistically serving the private sector and helping the sector increase its contribution to the local economy.
Al Muhairi said: “Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s participation in organising this workshop, in cooperation with Etihad Credit Insurance, comes within the framework of the Chamber in supporting the development of the private sector in the UAE, in general, and in Abu Dhabi, in particular, which is the main point of trade between different countries.”
The partnership, Al Muhairi added, is in line with the vision of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to support and develop non-oil sectors as the collaboration is set to widen the opportunities available for businesses, raise the volume of national exports, and enhance exporters’ competitiveness in the international markets.
Massimo Falcioni, Chief Executive Officer, ECI, said: “Etihad Credit Insurance plays a catalyst role in the promotion of UAE’s non-oil exports, trade, investments and strategic sectors development, in line with UAE Vision 2021 agenda. Our collaboration with Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry is part of our comprehensive plan to build a platform of strategic partnerships, which will enable us to provide businesses with tools that will meet their needs.”
“The event indeed gives us the unique opportunity to share ECI’s national mandate to accelerate and sustain the national non-oil diversification, and to learn from corporates based in Abu Dhabi their challenges and recommendations for trade and export,” said Falcioni.
Abu Dhabi’s non-oil exports and re-exports in the first half of 2018 reached AED 23.4 billion, a 6% increase from the AED 22 billion recorded in the same period in 2017, figures from the Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi show. Non-oil exports stood at AED 11.1 billion in the first half of 2018, which is 1.5% up from AED 10.9 billion in the same period last year while re-exports rose to AED 12.3 billion from AED 11.1 billion.
The Focus Group Discussion served as a strategic platform to learn more about businesses operating in the UAE, especially in Abu Dhabi. The event included a roundtable discussion that touched on timely and strategic topics like market environment and implied challenges; trends impacting the market; current risk management practices and ECI support and its product features.
