CAIRO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has received about 8.8 billion U.S. dollars in total financing from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), which will help it import nearly 19 million tons of strategic food commodities, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Sherif Farouk said on Thursday.
The financing supports the import of key commodities, including wheat, oils, sugar, corn, meat, and poultry, contributing to market stability and the continuous availability of goods, Farouk said during a meeting with ITFC CEO Adeeb Yousuf Al-Aama, according to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade.
The minister said the extended partnership with the ITFC represents "one of the main pillars supporting Egypt's food security system," stressing the importance of continued cooperation to provide the necessary financing to secure Egypt's needs of basic commodities and improve supply and distribution efficiency.
The meeting also discussed ways to expand cooperation in trade finance programs, supply chain development, strategic stock management, and logistics infrastructure for internal trade, the ministry said.
For his part, Al-Aama said Egypt is "a key strategic partner" for the ITFC in the region, adding that the corporation is working to expand its financing and technical programs to support supply chains and develop trade finance tools.
The meeting came one day after Egypt signed its 2026 annual financing program with the ITFC, a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, worth 1.5 billion dollars to support Egypt's food security and energy sectors, under a five-year framework agreement with a credit ceiling of up to 6 billion dollars. ■