Egypt signs $1.5bn financing pact for energy and commodity imports

Egypt has signed a $1.5 billion financing agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) 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 $1.5 billion 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 $14.5 billion 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 $6 billion.

Egypt recently agreed to a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (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.