The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has signed two new agreements with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) initiating the utilisation of the fifth framework agreement
The first master Murabaha agreement was signed by Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of ITFC, and Ahmed Yousef, deputy chairman of the Commodity Supply Authority, to support the provision of goods supplies worth US$1bn, benefiting 67mn citizens.
The second agreement was signed by Abed Ezz El Regal, CEO of EGPC, with total financing of US$2bn, in the presence of Tarek El Molla, minister of petroleum and mineral resources at the EGPC head office.
The framework agreement was initially signed on 30 January 2018, with the objective to finance the importation of commodities such as petroleum, petroleum products, gas, wheat, foodstuff and other goods for the benefit of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the amount of US$3bn.
Commenting on the announcement, Salem Sonbol said, “Here at ITFC, we recognise the immense strategic importance this agreement holds for our relationship with the government and people of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The benefits for economic development, social welfare development and intra-trade development cannot be understated. We look forward to years of continued partnership.”
To date, ITFC has signed five framework agreements with the Government of Egypt represented by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation totalling US$9.2bn.
The agreement is indicative of strong ongoing links between the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the parent group of ITFC, and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Since 1985-2007, IsDB has approved about US$1.675bn for the Arab Republic of Egypt, mostly to finance the importation of petroleum and refined petroleum products as well as wheat. Since its inception in 2008 and until Aug 2018, ITFC has also approved about US$7.274bn to finance the importation of crude oil and petroleum products in addition to food commodities and other products.
ITFC has also been supporting the Arab Republic of Egypt through its trade-related programs including the Aid for Trade Initiative for the Arab States (AfTIAS) Programme and the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Programme.
