BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17. One of the main
objectives of the Islamic Corporation for Investment and Export
Credit Insurance (ICIEC) is to expand trade among member countries
and strengthen regional integration, CEO of the Islamic Corporation
for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), Khalid
Khalafalla, said, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
He made the remark at the event titled "CEO's session on making
regional integration attractive for investment: promoting trade,
mobilizing investment and systematically de-risking growth" held
within the framework of the 51st Annual Meeting of the Islamic
Development Bank (IsDB) Group in Baku.
"Usually, exporting companies lack information about the
creditworthiness of buyers, or these risks are assessed higher due
to country ratings and information limitations. By insuring these
risks, we create conditions for more reliable and convenient
trade," said Khalafalla.
According to him, investment insurance and risk reduction are
manifested in two main directions in regional integration:
supporting infrastructure projects and energy projects. The CEO
emphasized that transport infrastructure, especially railways and
highways, plays an important role in facilitating trade by
connecting member countries.
"We support large infrastructure projects connecting member
countries, especially railways and highways. These projects
strengthen interregional relations and facilitate exports," he
said.
Noting that the IsDB Group and ICIEC have extensive
international cooperation in this area, Khalafalla said that large
infrastructure projects are usually implemented not by a single
institution, but jointly with international financial institutions
and export credit agencies.
"We cooperate with the World Bank's insurance structures, Daman
for Arab countries, ATIDI for African countries. At the same time,
we work together with European export credit agencies - Euler
Hermes, Coface, CESCE, as well as the U.S. Exim Bank. Because,
especially in the railway sector, the main part of the technology
is of European and U.S. origin," the head of ICIEC emphasized.
He also explained the specific results of this cooperation with
examples.
"We provided insurance support together with European agencies
in the Riyadh metro project, and the same mechanisms were applied
in the Dubai metro. Last year, we provided insurance coverage for
three railway projects in Turkey. One of them was located close to
the Azerbaijani border, which actually contributes to regional
integration," he explained.
Khalafalla noted that the political risk insurance provided by
ICIEC creates credit comfort for financial institutions, which
allows commercial banks to allocate funds to more projects.
"We are an AA-rated insurance company and operate within the
Islamic Development Bank Group. This status provides banks with
credit comfort and allows them to finance more operations," he
said.
According to him, political risk insurance reduces not only real
risks, but also the perception of risk in the market, which leads
to an expansion of investment flows.
"Sometimes the risk is not real, it's simply overestimated due
to lack of information or media influence. Our insurance mechanisms
reduce this perception and allow countries to attract more
resources," he emphasized.
The head of ICIEC added that the main share of the
organization's portfolio is occupied by infrastructure, especially
transport and energy sectors: "Energy projects sometimes meet only
domestic demand, and in some cases are aimed at exporting to
neighboring countries. This also makes an additional contribution
to regional energy integration," the CEO pointed out.
In conclusion, Khalafulla noted that ICIEC's investment
insurance activities as a whole serve to strengthen regional
integration, facilitate trade, and stimulate economic growth.
