SACE with Higher Committee for Export Credit of the Republic of Iraq to support high social impact projects involving Italian companies

SACE, Italy’s Export Credit Agency, announces a new important agreement and a business matching initiative with the Higher Committee for Export Credit of the Republic of Iraq to support cooperation between the two Countries, to realize high social impact projects in Iraq involving Italian companies.

The agreement, signed at SACE premises in Rome by Alessandra Ricci, SACE Chief Executive Officer and H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Darraji, Prime Minister Technical Advisor and Chair of the Higher Committee for Export Credit of the Republic of Iraq, aims at strengthening and enhancing cooperation in a diversified range of high social impact sectors, infrastructures, pharmaceuticals, glass production, food and housing. The Agreement has been possible thanks to the support of the Ambassador of Italy to Baghdad Maurizio Greganti. Counterparties are committed to developing an Open Multitied Framework to support up to Euro 1 billion new projects in Iraq. In the light of a potential increase in trade flows between Iraq and Italy, SACE will evaluate the opportunity to insure Italian export facilities with the Iraqi Ministry of Finance acting as guarantor.

After the signing, SACE hosted a Business Matching meeting between 25 Companies operating in Iraq, the Iraqi Government and Trade Bank delegation and over 40 Italian companies operating in the value chain comprised by the agreement – infrastructures, pharmaceuticals, glass production, food and housing.

The initiative represents a new concrete step forward in the cooperation between Italy and Iraq, after the memorandum of understanding signed last May with GKSD Investment Holding, leading global provider of planning, development and management of projects, to support potential projects involving Italian companies in Iraq.

"We are proud to support trade and business opportunities between Italy and Iraq, facilitating the access to Italian technologies, products and know-how to realize projects with a high social impact in Iraq - declared Alessandra Ricci, CEO of SACE – This initiative entails an enormous business potential as well as concrete benefits for all communities involved".

“The government of Iraq has taken important and courageous steps to implement the export credit program to the Iraqi private sector, as the legislation of laws and instructions for issuing sovereign guarantees in the amount of one trillion Iraqi dinars to cover the loans of Iraqi industrialists is considered one of the efforts – declared H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Darraji, Prime Minister Technical Advisor and Chair of the Higher Committee for Export Credit of the Republic of Iraq Statement - to develop industry in Iraq by taking advantage of the good relationship between Iraq and Italy, which will achieve important opportunities for the two countries in several fields, and we hope that businessmen from both parties will complete their agreements with the speed and quality that make the program successful”.