BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17. Major infrastructure projects require joint efforts of international financial institutions, development banks, and export credit agencies to secure financing and drive regional integration successfully, Khalid Khalafalla, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), said at a panel session during the 14th Private Sector Forum of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
"Neither ICIEC nor other multilateral institutions are capable of meeting the demand on their own. The only way forward for us is to work jointly as part of a syndicate of financiers and insurers," he said.
According to Khalafalla, since its inception, ICIEC has provided insurance coverage for trade and investment transactions worth $139 billion, of which nearly $57 billion accounted for projects within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries.
"Our mandate is to support intra-OIC trade and investment. This is precisely why we report annually on the volume of operations directed toward fostering regional integration," the head of the corporation noted.
He emphasized that ICIEC actively interacts with national export credit agencies and international financial institutions.
"In Central Asia, we work closely with NEXI, jointly expanding our support for critically important infrastructure projects. We recently renewed and expanded our memorandum of understanding to implement more projects, especially in the renewable energy sector," Khalafalla said.
As one of the successful examples of such cooperation, he pointed out the delivery of locomotives from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, executed with ICIEC support.
According to the head of the corporation, the organization pays special attention to transport and energy projects, as these form the very foundation of regional integration.
"As a rule, these are projects with very large financing volumes, and no single lender or insurer is capable of providing the necessary coverage independently," he stressed.
Khalafalla also noted the advantages of Islamic finance in implementing such projects.
"When a deal is structured according to the principles of Islamic finance, ICIEC can provide full insurance coverage for both the principal amount and the profit. This is why we always strive to structure transactions under the Islamic model," he said.
In conclusion, the head of ICIEC emphasized that the potential for further cooperation remains very high.
"For us, there is no limit to the possibilities of supporting such projects. We will continue to work together with financial institutions, export credit agencies, and multilateral development banks to realize new initiatives," Khalafalla declared.
