H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development who is also acting as the Governor of Egypt at the Islamic Development Bank Group and Chairperson of the Bank’s Board of Governors, received Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol – CEO of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and Acting CEO of the International Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, a subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank Group at the Ministry of Planning headquarters.

The meeting discussed mechanisms to enhance future cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the two institutions

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said welcomed Eng. Hani Sonbol, expressed her happiness for continuous communication and coordination with his Excellency in all cooperation files, stressing Egypt’s keenness and full readiness to continue work and strengthen cooperation bonds with member institutions of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

El-Said reviewed the most prominent developments regarding the existing areas of cooperation between Egypt and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, especially about the renewal of the framework agreement, signed between the two sides in 2018, which the Egyptian Cabinet agreed on the first of last June to renew the framework agreement for five years, with an amendment The credit limit of the agreement is from 3 to 6 billion US dollars, as the amended framework agreement was signed on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Sharm El Sheikh.

El-Said praised the Corporation’s efforts to approve financing operations for the General Authority for Supply Commodities in 2022, with a total amount of $1.190 million, and the Corporation’s actions to start a new process to mobilize financial resources for the benefit of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, noting that the Corporation’s total financing operations are for the benefit of the Republic of Egypt. Arab Egypt until August 2022 has reached about 14 billion dollars.

On the project of the Egyptian Academy for International Trade, within the framework of the second phase of the program of the Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab Countries (IFTIAS 2.0), El-Said explained that a letter of intent to establish the academy was signed between the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation. And the Egyptian Exporters Association during the annual meetings of the bank group in Sharm El-Sheikh, and that work is underway to launch the academy during the current year.

The initiative to qualify women entrepreneurs in the field of handicrafts for export was also discussed, in cooperation with the Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprise Development Authority. The two sides also discussed the position of implementing the third annual program for the benefit of the Arab Republic of Egypt, which comes under the umbrella of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program.

Regarding cooperation with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, El-Said pointed to the importance of strengthening means of cooperation with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the investment arm of the state, in line with the axes of the National Program for Structural Reforms, the state plan document, and other national plans and strategies aimed at encouraging the sector Egyptian special.

The two sides discussed mechanisms of cooperation between the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development within the framework of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh during November 2022.

Source: State Information Service Egypt