The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat stressed the importance of diversifying areas of cooperation between Egypt and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) in the coming period. The Minister noted that Egypt is a partner of the ITFC in its “Arab-Africa Foreign Trade Bridge” program, in light of its keenness to expand financing for the private sector. The aforementioned remarks came during a meeting between Al-Mashat and Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of ITFC, one of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) institutions, where the two discussed the compatibility of ITFC’s programs in financing trade projects related to Egypt’s 2030 Vision. The meeting comes within the Government of Egypt’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by venturing into new sectors benefiting from ITFC’s programs. Al-Mashat also discussed the latest developments regarding the implementation of the ITFC’s 2021 cooperation program. The development agreement was signed last January with a value of $1.1 billion; of which $700 million was allocated to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), and $400 million to the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC). The Minister reviewed ITFC’s contribution in combating the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020; an amount of $200 million was approved for the GASC to aid in covering the Government of Egypt’s needs in terms of basic strategic commodities and to enhance the state’s capabilities in mitigating the impact of the health crisis. During the meeting, Al-Mashat applauded the ITFC’s prominent role in development, and its efforts to support various sectors in Egypt, despite the challenging circumstances posed by 2020’s health crisis. She stressed the importance of diversifying areas of cooperation between Egypt and ITFC during the coming period. Reviewing cooperation with ITFC in digitalization, Al-Mashat said that this falls within Egypt’s 2030 vision; catalyzing the country’s digital transformation. The cooperation included communicating with EGPC and GASC to digitize the trade operations, such as shipping documents and documentary credits. Enhancing the Egyptian Agriculture and Trade sectors, Al-Mashat emphasized that ITFC shall expand its collaboration portfolio with the Government of Egypt to encompass the “Egyptian Cotton Project” program, which aims to support the cultivation of Egyptian cotton by designing and adopting specialized training programs in modern agricultural practices for farmers. The Minister noted that Egypt increased its shares in the ITFC in 2016, bringing the total number of shares from 1,273 to 1,513, representing approximately 2% of the institution’s capital. Al-Mashat and Sonbol looked into the topics of the Annual Forum for International Development Cooperation, preparing for the first edition of the event that is expected to be held during the coming period. Sonbol thanked the Government of Egypt for its support and constant cooperation with ITFC in implementing impactful development projects and in diversifying the portfolio of cooperation in order to push towards an integrated sustainability program. The ITFC, a member of the IsDB Group, was established in 2008 with the aim of promoting trade among the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and collaborating with international and regional organizations to design and implement trade finance and development programs. The sustainable interventions encompass the Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab States (AfTIAS) and the “Arab-Africa Foreign Trade Bridge”. Since its establishment, the ITFC carried out trade financing activities amounting to $50 billion across 57 countries. Egypt is one of ITFC’s most important partners as its total number of financing operations amount to $12.46 billion, covering the import of petroleum and petroleum products, and food commodities.