The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) (http://ICIEC.IsDB.org), the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, has signed an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture (ICCIA), under which the two parties agree to cooperate “in promoting trade and investment in member states common to both.”
ICCIA is an international non-governmental organization affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that represents the private sector of the OIC’s 57 member Islamic states. Its headquarters are in Karachi, Pakistan.
Mr. Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, and Mr. Yousef Hasan Khalawi, Secretary-General of ICCIA, signed the Memorandum of Understanding in Karachi, Pakistan.
The goal of the MoU is to establish a framework of cooperation between the two institutions to further their respective mandates, particularly in promoting intra-OIC trade, attracting investment flows into Member States, supporting green and sustainable financing, and developing the Halal industry globally.
The fact that ICIEC has disbursed a total of US$ 92.1 billion in this regard since its inception supports the corporation’s role in promoting trade and investment in its member countries. Of this figure, US$72.7 billion represents credit support for trade, while US$18.4 billion covers foreign direct investments.
Furthermore, ICIEC sees its role in export credit insurance and political risk insurance as critical to bridging the climate action finance gap through de-risking, private capital mobilization, and collaboration. Green and renewable energy value and supply chains are complex, and ICIEC sees a wide range of opportunities to address the twin challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation across its Member States. To that end, in 2022 alone, ICIEC has contributed over $418 million toward infrastructure and over $3.9 billion toward clean energy support.
The OIC has set a target of 25% intra-OIC trade and investment flows by 2025. It is currently around 21%. COVID-19 had a significant impact on global trade and FDI flows. However, just as the trends began to improve in 2021, trade and investment were once again hampered by the Ukraine conflict, supply-chain disruptions, particularly sharp increases in food and fuel prices, and global economic shocks. The OIC’s 57 member states form a large and potentially powerful trading bloc. According to IsDB data, they will account for US$3.7 trillion in trade in 2021, with exports totaling US$1,881.4 billion and imports totaling US$1,789.6 billion. The opportunities are enormous, and collaborations like this MoU can only help to boost intra-OIC trade and commerce. The OIC’s 57 member countries form a large and potentially powerful trading bloc. According to IsDB data, they will account for US$3.7 trillion in trade in 2021, with exports totaling $1,881.4 billion and imports totaling $1,789.6 billion. The opportunities are enormous, and partnerships like this MoU can only help to boost intra-OIC trade and investment.
Mr Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, welcomed the signing of the MoU with ICCIA: “This MoU further enhances ICIEC’s long-established playbook on supporting trade and investment in our 48 Member States. Since its launch in 1994, ICIEC has had a 28-year of experience in commencing and introducing Sharia’h-compliant risk mitigation and credit enhancement tools primarily for the promotion of intra-OIC trade and investment in projects that are deemed strategically vital for our Member States”.
“We are a strong supporter of promoting intra-OIC trade and investment. The total value of Intra-OIC Trade and Investment supported by ICIEC in 2022 reached US$ 88 billion. Through this MoU, we look forward to assisting exporters, investors, and financial institutions to reach new markets globally as our solutions allow them to navigate around the political and commercial risks inherent in international trade.”
Source : african
