Forum discusses ways to diversify UAE export economy for growth

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

More than 270 UAE exporters and potential international buying partners came together this week for the UAE’s major buyers and exporters forum since COVID-19 shut down global trade events to discuss how the UAE national export community can help them overcome the significant financial challenges and risk they face in today’s ever-shifting economic environment to stimulate export transactions that can expedite economic recovery and business growth.

The virtual trade promotion event was co-hosted by Dubai Exports, Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) and Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) to help stimulate sustainable economic growth while diversifying the UAE export economy. The event that was designed to help businesses understand the full range of strategic financial and support services available to them through UAE government entities to fund and insure safe, secure import-export transactions during a time where the global supply chain is facing a critical liquidity shortage and availability of traditional commercial financing is limited for companies in key emerging economies.

Dubai Exports in cooperation with its 24 international offices and its international strategic partners worked together to attract international buyers from more than 35 global markets to the forum titled Export Financing Solutions to Improve Liquidity, Stimulate Sustainable Economic Recovery. The forum provided a platform for a vibrant discussion of the challenges both UAE exporters and their foreign buyers are facing today in an uncertain economic and political environment as well as solutions to those challenges available through ADEX and ECI. While participants raised a range of current challenges and business issues they are struggling with, access to affordable capital and fear of the potentially crippling impact from increased risk of significant delays and non-payment of purchase contracts topped the list of concerns.

Bharat Krishnan, Head of Sales & Marketing at National Food Industries said: “Access to working capital and increased financial risk of exporting are at the top of the list of the challenges we as exporters as well as our international buyers are dealing with. Access to financing is essential to get goods and services flowing across our borders and put us on the road to immediate economic recovery and long-term growth. What we heard today is just how far the UAE has gone to strengthen the financial support network available not only to local companies but also to our foreign buyers that can effectively make exports the lynchpin of our COVID-19 economic recovery.”

Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Exports, an agency of Dubai Economic Development, said: “The foresight of UAE leadership to invest in establishing entities like ADEX and ECI over the past few years will prove to be a game changer in our ability to strategically leverage exports to drive our national economic recovery and long-term growth. The availability of export credit financing and insurance in today’s cash strapped environment gives our exporters a powerful competitive advantage and increases the attractiveness of UAE companies as international trading partners.”

Both ADEX and ECI were established within the past three years with similar mandates to help drive diversification and growth of the UAE export economy as a core pillar of the nation’s post crude oil economy.