Egypt Secures $1.5 Billion Financing Deal with International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation

Egypt recently inked a significant $1.5 billion financing deal with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to support its trading activities. This agreement covers the funding for key imports such as energy products and essential commodities, as reported by CNBC Arabia citing the corporation’s top official.

Last year, Egypt inked a comparable $1.5 billion agreement with the ITFC, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The ITFC frequently supports Egypt’s imports of commodities such as grains and petroleum.

During a recent signing ceremony in Cairo, Egypt’s Planning Minister Hala al-Saeed announced that the financing cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the corporation has reached an impressive $14.5 billion. This information was shared in a statement by the Planning Ministry, which was posted on their Facebook account.

She added that the latest signing comes within the framework agreement concluded between Egypt and the ITFC in 2018 that was renewed last year for an additional five years, with an amendment to the credit limit of the agreement from $3 to $6 billion.

Egypt recently agreed to a $3 billion IMF support package as it faces a currency crunch exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, pushing up its bills for wheat and oil while dealing a blow to its tourist numbers from both nations. Tourism is a key source of hard currency for Egypt.