BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17. Political risk
insurance helps turn regional projects into investment-attractive
ventures while expanding access to financing by mitigating investor
risks, Khalid Khalafalla, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the
Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), said during the
14th Private Sector Forum of the Islamic Development Bank Group,
Trend's
correspondent reports from the event.


"Political risk insurance does not mean that a country is
necessarily high-risk. Sometimes the risk exists only in the
perception of investors due to the information background. Our
insurance coverage allows banks to obtain a significant reduction
in credit risks, which helps mobilize more resources and attract
additional financing," he said.


According to Khalafalla, ICIEC was established to support the
exports of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member
countries and to attract foreign direct investment by providing
political risk insurance to investors and financial
institutions.


He noted that since its inception, the corporation has insured
trade and investment transactions worth $139 billion, of which
about $57 billion accounted for intra-OIC trade.


"This directly contributes to regional integration and trade
development among member states," Khalafalla emphasized.







The head of ICIEC announced that a significant portion of the
organization's activities is focused on insuring infrastructure
projects, primarily in the transport and energy sectors. According
to him, such projects are implemented jointly with international
financial institutions and export credit agencies.


As an example, he cited ICIEC's participation in metro projects
in Riyadh and Dubai, as well as three railway projects in Turkey
implemented last year. One of these is located near the border with
Azerbaijan and will facilitate the development of exports from
Türkiye to Georgia, thereby strengthening regional integration.


"The main part of our investment insurance goes into
infrastructure projects—transport and energy. It is precisely these
sectors that hold key importance for strengthening regional
integration and developing trade between neighboring countries,"
Khalafalla added.