MUSCAT -- Nasir bin Issa al Ismaily, General Manager of the Export Credit Guarantee Agency of Oman (ECGA), was elected Chairman of the Prague Club of the Berne Union during its meeting in Minsk, Belarus last week. The Prague Club of the Berne Union consists of a number of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) from various countries. Al Ismaily will succeed Csaba Simon of Hungary as Chairman. This is the first time in the history of the Prague Club that the chairmanship has been bestowed on an elected nominee from outside Europe.
The Prague Club has attracted a growing number of ECAs from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in addition to the Central and Eastern European regions. Most recent entrants admitted as observers were Ukraine and Russia. Presently, there are a total of 30 ECAs that are members of the Prague Club. These include national ECAs from Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Hungary, Iran, Jordan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Ukraine and Montenegro.
Also members are multilateral ECAs, such as the Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) representing a number of Eastern and Central African countries based in Nairobi -- Kenya, Arab Corporation for Investment and Export Credit in Kuwait for members of the Arab World and Islamic Corporation of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) which is a subsidiary of Islamic Development Bank based in Jeddah for OIC member countries.
The Export Credit Guarantee Agency of Oman has benefited through the years by being associated with this reputable international association operating under the auspices of the Berne Union which is an International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers. ECGA's membership and involvement with the Prague Club of the Berne Union has been very positive as it has benefited from the exchanges of information as well as experiences in the credit insurance, underwriting, claims and recoveries, country risks assessments, and so on, with the other ECA member countries as well as from technical expertise and support provided by the Secretariat of the Berne Union.
The ECGA of Oman was the first member in the Middle-East/Africa region to have qualified and joined the Prague Club in 2000. It also hosted the first meeting in the region in Muscat in 2006. Despite the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, the need for credit insurance by exporters has been growing and ECAs are mitigating such credit risks to exporters worldwide. This was highlighted during the meeting in Minsk. The volume of short-term credit insured business of the Prague Club of the Berne Union members has increased significantly from $11.1 billion in 2004 to $21 billion in 2008 representing a growth rate of more than 89 per cent in four years period.
The meetings and workshops which the Secretariat of the Berne Union has organised for the Prague Club through the years has contributed immensely towards the sound and professional principles of credit insurance and maintenance of discipline in terms of international trade as well as observance of the Berne Union Understanding and Agreements.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2009
