International Islamic Trade Finance Corp signs $60m agreements with four Turkish banks

The signing ceremony took place today, October 23, 2008, on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of the 24th session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (COMCEC) that is being held in Istanbul, Turkey between from 20-24 October 2008 under the auspices of His Excellency Abdullah Gul, President of the Republic of Turkey.

Highlighting the importance of such agreements in terms of supporting trade finance activities in the Republic of Turkey, Dr. Waleed Al Wohaib, ITFC CEO, said:

"The total amount of the signed agreements is $60m and the aim is to further grow intra-trade financing between member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference to bring economic and social prosperity and boost economic development."

This is the first participation for ITFC at COMCEC and the objective is to closely monitor the latest cooperative schemes and activities relating to trade and economic agreements signed between member countries, as well as to be involved in planning and recommending processes to enhance the trade and economic capabilities of member countries.

Moreover the ITFC is also participating in the 12th MUSIAD International Trade Fair, which is being held in parallel with COMCEC, by sponsoring five Trade Promotion Organizations (TPO's) representing Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia and Kazakhstan. This year, more than 500 companies from 61 countries are expected to participate in the 12th MUSAID International Trade Fair.

In its mid-year financial report for 1429, ITFC announced the execution of trade finance operation activities amounting to a total of $1.6bn, with 50% allocated to financing private sector trade and 50% allocated to the public sector. IDB member countries received the largest quota, with import financing amounting to $1.3bn for member countries and $300m allocated for non-member countries.

The ITFC promotes and finances intra-trade to bring economic prosperity to the Islamic world through channeling funds from the wealthiest member countries to less prosperous member countries and to help in the development of Islamic countries and the Islamic world at large.
The ITFC aims to advance trade in order to improve lives of ordinary people across the Muslim world. By helping businesses in Islamic countries gain better access to trade finance and provide them with the necessary education and training to compete successfully in the global marketplace, the ITFC is committed to improving the economies of member countries.

To bring prosperity and improve living standards in the Islamic world, the ITFC helps development by providing funds to credit-starved countries and contributes to job creation by supporting productive development.

To support this on-going process, the ITFC contributes to capacity building through skills transfers and technical assistance, and promotes intra-trade that contributes to constructive national development.