Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said said that the portfolio of cooperation between Egypt and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) amounted to about $16bn since the establishment of the institution in 2008 until September 2022.
This came in a speech delivered by Al-Saeed during the closing ceremony of the project for women in international trade in Egypt (SheTrades Egypt), in the presence of Hani Sonbol, CEO of ITFC, and acting CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.
She stressed that there is a firm desire on both sides to continue and intensify this cooperation in the next stage, which was reflected in the signing of the annual work program for 2022 between the two sides in February 2022, as well as the renewal of the framework agreement concluded between the two sides in 2018, with an increase in the credit limit of the agreement to $6bn.
She referred to all the partners on both sides, which have been engaged in continuous cooperation and coordination and providing support in all its forms; for the success of the SheTrades Egypt project, which was specifically designed to achieve a strategic goal of empowering women economically by focusing on supporting businesswomen in the handicraft sector in Egypt to maintain and develop their businesses and actively participate in development efforts, more job opportunities for women and girls, and building a more supportive environment to enhance their ability to play a more effective economic role.
For his part, Sonbol confirmed that Egypt is one of the most important partners of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, as the corporation has provided billions of dollars in financing since its inception in 2008, and signed five framework agreements with Egypt so far. These funds contributed to supporting the food and energy security of Egypt in addition to the development of medium, small and micro enterprises, while its services also included technical assistance and capacity-building projects in the field of trade development.
He added that the SheTrades program in Egypt is evidence of the trade development projects supported by the Foundation, since its launch in 2020, and despite the conditions of the Coronavirus pandemic, the program has provided assistance to thirty small and medium-sized companies owned and managed by women in Egypt, and the program has provided technical assistance activities and capacity building to enable beneficiary institutions to diversify products and services and expand in local and international markets, in addition to providing support to bodies working in trade development in evaluating their trade support services and adapting them to the needs of women and entrepreneurs.
