ECI (the UAE's federal export credit company) and Euler Hermes (which manages Germany's official Export Credit Guarantee Scheme on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to move toward a permanent Reinsurance Agreement for sharing export credit risks on international export and infrastructure projects. The framework grew out of an ad-hoc reinsurance concluded in 2024 for a major infrastructure project in Iraq. Germany's ECGS covered approximately €1.4 billion in Gulf projects in 2025 — nearly double the ~€700 million recorded in 2024.
What happened
On 13 September 2026, Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) — the UAE's federal export credit company — and Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft (part of the Allianz Trade group), which operates Germany's official Export Credit Guarantee Scheme on behalf of and for the account of the Federal Republic of Germany, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. According to joint information reported by Gulf News (Business/Markets), TradeArabia and Gulf Time, the document establishes a framework for a long-term partnership focused on the joint support and risk mitigation of international export and infrastructure projects involving suppliers from both countries.
The MoU was signed for ECI by Mohammed Tahlak, Director of Corporate Support; and for Euler Hermes by Jan-Philipp Apking and Thomas Baum, Members of Executive Management.
The key point of the MoU: the parties are moving on to discuss a comprehensive Reinsurance Agreement whose stated objective is to "create a permanent framework for sharing export credit risks" on transactions involving Emirati and German suppliers. The agreement also anticipates cooperation in third-country markets where companies from both countries are involved in the same export or infrastructure transaction.
Who ECI and Euler Hermes are
ECI is the UAE's state export credit insurer, established in 2018 and fully government-owned. Per its own official page eci.gov.ae, cumulative insured turnover has exceeded AED 15 billion; Fitch rating AA- for eight consecutive years (2025). Its mandate is to accelerate the UAE's non-oil exports through insurance of political and commercial risks on export transactions, guarantees to financing banks, and cooperation with international reinsurers.
Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft is Germany's counterpart to ECI. It sits within the Allianz Trade group, but for the state ECGS scheme it acts as operator on behalf of and for the account of the Federal Government of Germany — the insurance liability sits with Germany's federal budget, while Euler Hermes carries the underwriting and administration. The signed MoU is therefore effectively an intergovernmental reinsurance framework, not a commercial contract between two private insurers.
The Iraq precedent of 2024
The permanent framework grew out of an ad-hoc reinsurance concluded by ECI and Euler Hermes in 2024 for a major infrastructure project in Iraq. The specific project has not been publicly disclosed in open sources, but that deal gave both institutions a working model of coordinated reinsurance on a cross-border contract involving both Emirati and German suppliers. As Gulf News and TradeArabia note, this precedent forms the basis of the current move to a permanent format.
€1.4bn ECGS in the Gulf in 2025 — where coverage is heading
The market context explains the timing of the MoU. Germany's official Export Credit Guarantee Scheme covered approximately €1.4 billion ($1.62 billion) in Gulf projects in 2025 — nearly double the ~€700 million recorded in 2024. Two trends drive this. First, the growing volume of German contract-export deals in the GCC (energy, infrastructure, industrial equipment). Second, a rising share of deals where a German supplier partners with an Emirati counterparty (joint contracting, localisation, third-country work). Ad-hoc reinsurance has stopped scaling to that volume — hence the move to a permanent framework.
What a permanent framework delivers to UAE exporters
Three practical implications for UAE companies running large international projects:
- Higher total coverage limit per deal. If ECI carries part of the insurance risk and Euler Hermes carries part on behalf of Germany, the total available limit on a large contract export rises. For projects in the $100+ million range, this is often the decisive parameter in the "go / no-go" call.
- Lower effective insurance premium. Risk-sharing between two state insurers reduces the premium charged to the ultimate exporter — the standard reinsurance effect.
- Third-country markets — the core segment. The framework covers cases where Emirati and German companies are involved in the same deal in a third country. This is precisely the segment of UAE contract exports in Africa, Asia and the CIS, where a German partner (engineering, equipment) is a standard combination.
Important caveat — each transaction is still assessed individually against portfolio alignment and risk criteria. The permanent framework does not grant automatic approval on any deal, but removes the need to negotiate ad-hoc reinsurance from scratch every time.
Context: the follow-up to the €40 billion MBZ state visit to Berlin
The MoU was signed the week after UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's state visit to Germany on 9–11 September 2026. During the visit, the UAE-Germany Joint Declaration was signed, a ~€40 billion investment package from the UAE into the German economy was announced, and a Strategic Dialogue and German-UAE Investment Council were launched. The ECI × Euler Hermes MoU is the operational follow-up to that political framework: it translates an intergovernmental agenda into a specific instrument used directly by exporters and contractors.
In the wider context, this fits the UAE's CEPA and trade-corridor agenda: the country is systematically moving its export infrastructure from one-off arrangements to permanent international frameworks — from trade partnerships to reinsurance of export credit risks. For non-oil diversification, this is a structural step, not a one-off.
What this means for business
Three takeaways for Emirati companies and international players operating through the UAE:
- UAE exporters with a German partner get a more predictable reinsurance channel. If your project is a large contract or supply in a third country with a German company in the mix, ECI and Euler Hermes now operate under a single framework rather than negotiating reinsurance from scratch for each deal.
- German companies working in the GCC gain an additional anchor via ECI. Euler Hermes on behalf of Germany already covers €1.4 billion in the Gulf — but the ECI link adds local presence, sharper country-risk understanding, and access to additional limits.
- Documentation readiness moves to the front. When structuring export and contracting operations through the UAE, it makes sense to build documentation up-front against state export-credit insurers' requirements — contract base, engineering documentation, covenants — rather than retrofitting for reinsurance later.
Open questions
- Dates for the final Reinsurance Agreement. The MoU is a framework for a subsequent full Reinsurance Agreement. Dates for signing the final agreement have not been publicly announced.
- The Iraq precedent project. The specific name and size of the 2024 ad-hoc reinsurance for the Iraq infrastructure project has not been disclosed in open sources.
- ECGS coverage breakdown by Gulf country. The regional total of €1.4 billion is disclosed; the country-by-country breakdown across the GCC is not.
- Case-by-case assessment thresholds. The case-by-case rule is confirmed by both parties, but specific portfolio-alignment criteria and minimum deal sizes have not been publicly disclosed.
Where to verify updates
- Etihad Credit Insurance — eci.gov.ae (News section);
- Allianz Trade / Euler Hermes — corporate newsroom on allianz-trade.com;
- Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) — publications on the official ECGS.
This material is for information only and is not insurance, investment, tax or legal advice. For a specific transaction, consult your adviser and the primary sources at ECI and Euler Hermes.
