The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) with the aim of promoting increased cooperation and serving their common objectives.
The MoU, which was signed in Washington DC, comes as a direct result of Shurooq’s highly successful roadshow to the U.S.A. in the latter part of last year and follows shortly on the heal of Sharjah receiving a long-term rating of A3, with a stable outlook, from Moody’s as well as a long-term rating of A, also with a stable outlook, from Standard ‘&’ Poor’s.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Authority’s participation in the Ex-Im Bank Annual Conference by Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Shurooq, and Fred P. Hochberg, Chairperson and President of Ex-Im Bank, and was attended by Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan bin Khalid Al Qasimi, HE Omar Al Shamsi, HE Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in Washington D.C., Chairman of Government Relations Department in the Emirate of Sharjah, Danny Sebright, President of US-UAE Business Council, Risa Edelman, Senior Associate, International Programs at the American Council On Renewable Energies (ACORE), and Amani Al Ali, Manager of the Executive Office of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi.
Speaking about the MoU, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi remarked, “We are extremely pleased to be signing this agreement with Ex-Im Bank, which comes in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to strengthen relations and cooperation with organizations from around the world and which follows as a direct result of the efforts that were exerted during Shurooq’s record-breaking roadshow to the US last year.” Fred Hochberg, Chairperson of Export-Import Bank of the U.S. also remarked, “UAE is amongst the top five markets in the entire world for the Export – Import Bank. We would like to do more business there, and this MoU helps open the way paves the communications that we are open for business, we are looking to do more transactions and more financing .” Under the terms of the MoU, Shurooq and Ex-Im Bank have agreed to exchange information on trade and business opportunities to further the goal of facilitating procurement of U.S. goods and services by both state-owned and private-sector Sharjah enterprises, for projects within Sharjah or elsewhere.
Shurooq and Ex-Im Bank intend to exchange information on trade and business opportunities to further the goal of facilitating procurement of U.S. goods and services by both state-owned and private-sector Sharjah enterprises, for projects within Sharjah or elsewhere. In particular, the two parties have a number of areas in which they intend to work together to promote business development opportunities, most notably Travel and Leisure, Health Care, Transport and Logistics, and the Environment. MoU further makes provision for the exploration of options for utilizing Ex-Im Bank medium- and long-term guaranteed and/or direct U.S. dollar loans to finance U.S. exports to the emirate of Sharjah. Access to such financing would be subject to Ex-Im Bank approval for each individual transaction, and must comply with Ex-Im Bank’s policies and financing terms and the cooperation between the parties would be directed toward qualifying projects for approval by both Shurooq and Ex-Im Bank.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank’s mission is to assist in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets.
Shurooq had also presented a high-level investment seminar in collaboration with the US-UAE Business Council earlier in the day, the second of three seminars organized by Shurooq. The first seminar took place on the 23rd of April in collaboration with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the third was held in collaboration with the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce on the 25th of April.
Established in 2009, Shurooq strives to encourage investment in the Emirate of Sharjah by adopting the best international standards in providing quality services that help attract investors from the region and the world.
Shurooq’s key mission is to provide facilities and incentives to help overcome obstacles facing investment activities in the Emirate, evaluate tourism and investment related infrastructure projects, and lay down the necessary plans to complete such projects.
In recognition of its overall accomplishments, Shurooq was named The Banking Awards 2013 – FDI Agency of the Year in the MENA region, in The European’s Global Banking and Finance Awards.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
