Egypt's Minister of Planning Hala al-Said speaks on the country's economic outlook and post-COVID-19 recovery during an interview with Reuters at her office in Cairo, Egypt, January 24, 2022. Picture taken on January 24, 2022. File Photo / Reuters
Cairo: Egypt has signed a $1.5bn financing agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to fund its trading, including imports of energy products and essential commodities, CNBC Arabia wrote on Twitter, citing the head of the corporation.
Last year Egypt signed a similar agreement also worth $1.5bn with the ITFC, which is headquartered in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and often funds Egypt's commodities imports, including grains and petroleum.
Egypt's Planning Minister Hala al-Saeed said at a signing ceremony in Cairo that the financing cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the corporation totals $14.5bn so far, according to a statement by the Planning Ministry posted on its account on Facebook.
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 $6bn.
Egypt recently agreed to a $3bn 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.
