Italy's state-backed export credit agency SACE has signed its first fully Sharia-compliant reinsurance arrangement, partnering with Qatar Development Bank in an agreement that places Islamic finance structures at the centre of a mainstream ECA bilateral deal for the first time in SACE's history.
The reciprocal reinsurance agreement, signed on June 11 on the sidelines of TXF Global 2026 in Prague, establishes a framework for SACE and QDB to support joint export credit transactions involving Italian and Qatari suppliers in third-country markets. One institution leads coverage while the other supports the portion linked to its national exporters, with each transaction assessed and approved separately as it arises. QDB's participation is structured on a Sharia-compliant basis, in line with Islamic finance principles.
The global takaful market - the Sharia-compliant insurance sector - is projected to grow from $36.5 billion in 2025 to $40.9 billion in 2026, at a compound annual growth rate of 12%, driven by rising demand for ethical insurance products and expanding Islamic finance ecosystems. The GCC region, which includes Qatar, currently dominates the takaful market with approximately 85% of global market share. For European ECAs seeking deeper engagement with Gulf-based counterparts, the ability to structure arrangements in accordance with Islamic finance principles is increasingly a practical prerequisite rather than an optional feature.
The QDB deal is the second bilateral ECA reinsurance agreement SACE has signed with a Gulf institution within seven months. In November 2025, SACE signed a reinsurance agreement with the Saudi Export-Import Bank, establishing a framework for reinsurance support on projects of mutual interest in third countries. SACE manages a portfolio of insured operations and guaranteed investments worth around €290 billion across 200 markets worldwide. The pace of Gulf partnership-building suggests a deliberate strategy to embed SACE's capacity within the region's expanding export finance infrastructure.
Mario Melillo, SACE's chief network officer, said the agreement creates a practical platform for cooperation. "By joining forces with Qatar Development Bank, we are creating a concrete framework to support export transactions in third markets involving Italian and Qatari content. This cooperation will help open new opportunities for companies from both countries, facilitate their access to international projects and strengthen their role in global value chains," he said.
Khalid Abdullah Al-Mana, QDB's vice president of enterprise development and executive director of Qatar Exports, said the deal broadens the support available to Qatari exporters. "Partnerships of this nature are increasingly important as exporters seek to participate in larger international export projects. By working with SACE, QDB is reinforcing the support available to Qatar-based exporters and contributing to a framework that can serve the growth ambitions of both Qatari and Italian exporters in global markets," he said.
SACE is not the only European ECA to have navigated Islamic finance structures in the Gulf. UK Export Finance previously guaranteed an Islamic Murabaha financing facility of approximately $700 million for the Six Flags Qiddiya City project near Riyadh, in what was UKEF's first and largest Murabaha financing in the region, with reinsurance support provided by Atradius, SACE and Euler Hermes. That transaction demonstrated that multi-ECA cooperation on Sharia-compliant structures is operationally achievable - the SACE-QDB agreement now takes that precedent a step further by building it into a standing bilateral framework rather than a single transaction.
The development points to a structural shift. ECAs currently finance or underwrite approximately $430 billion of business activity abroad annually, with around $55 billion going towards project finance in developing countries. As Gulf sovereign wealth and development finance continues to flow into third-market infrastructure and energy projects - precisely the territory both SACE and QDB are targeting - bilateral ECA frameworks capable of accommodating Islamic finance requirements will become an increasingly important part of how that capital is deployed.
