Abu dhabi: Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE's federal export credit company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, to manage its official Export Credit Guarantee Scheme. This MoU establishes a framework for a long-term partnership aimed at joint support and risk mitigation for international export and infrastructure projects.
According to Emirates News Agency, the MoU was signed by Mohammed Tahlak, Director of Corporate Support at ECI, and Jan-Philipp Apking and Thomas Baum, Members of Executive Management at Euler Hermes. It sets the stage for discussions toward a comprehensive Reinsurance Agreement. This future agreement is intended to create a permanent framework for reinsuring export credit risks arising from transactions involving suppliers from both the UAE and Germany, with potential cooperation in third-country markets.
The proposed framework allows ECI and Euler Hermes to identify and explore export credit transactions suitable for collaboration. Participation in individual transactions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, considering each party's product portfolio, eligibility requirements, risk assessment criteria, and applicable international standards.
This agreement is timely, given the growing strategic importance of the Gulf region for export credit guarantees. In 2025, projects and contracts with a total volume of approximately EUR 1.4 billion were covered by Germany's official Export Credit Guarantee Scheme across the region, representing a significant increase from the previous year.
The MoU builds on the successful cooperation that began with the Ad-hoc Reinsurance Agreement in 2024, related to a major infrastructure project in Iraq. This transaction highlighted the mutual benefits of coordinated reinsurance and laid a strong foundation for future collaborations involving German and Emirati companies.
The partnership underscores the strong and evolving economic ties between the UAE and Germany, leveraging the UAE's growing role as a global hub for trade, finance, and investment, alongside Germany's industrial and technological strengths. This collaboration creates opportunities for enhanced cooperation on international export and infrastructure projects involving suppliers from both nations.
The signing of the MoU emphasizes ECI's commitment to deepening cooperation with international export credit institutions and developing risk-sharing arrangements that support eligible UAE-based exporters. It also reinforces ECI's role in facilitating access to global markets and contributing to the growth and diversification of the UAE's non-oil exports.