The Sharjah International Commercial Arbitration Centre, known as TAHKEEM, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), considered the first of its kind in the Middle East, with the International Court of Arbitration to foster cooperation ties in the field of commercial arbitration and promote coordination on the development of rules and exchanging best practices.

The agreement was signed by H.E. Abdulla Deaifis, Chairman of TAHKEEM Executive Committee, and H.E. Alexis Mourre, president of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, at the premises of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.The signing ceremony was attended by H.E. Abdulla Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Ahmed Saleh Alechla, TAHKEEM Director, and Sami Houerbi, Director of the International Court of Arbitration, a branch of the International Chamber of Commerce, for the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean Region.

The two parties, under the MoU, will exchange knowledge and expertise on arbitral issues, including mechanism at work and lessons learned. They will also reciprocate information and experience about modern legal and arbitration systems and ways to promote arbitration as a means of settling commercial disputes away from conventional litigation and to encourage the business sector to adopt arbitration as a preferred method for dispute resolution and to include arbitration clauses into business agreements and contracts.Commenting on the agreement, Abdulla Deaifis, said: “We are delighted to host the Chairman and the team of the International Court of Arbitration in the Emirate of Sharjah and to sign this MoU, which reflects the success of TAHKEEM in reaching out to the global community and corroborates the efficiency of the strategy we have been following at the Center over the past few years, whose fruits we are reaping now.”