Business & Money | Thursday 18 January, 2018 12:06 am |

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, signs a US$210 million Framework Agreement with Government of The Gambia for financing over a  3 year period. The signing ceremony took place in Banjul on 16th January 2018,  during the official visit of the ITFC CEO to The Gambia.

The agreement is to support key economic sectors, including energy, through the importation of  refined  petroleum products, and agriculture, through the importation of fertilizer and the provision of pre-export financing for agricultural produce notably, groundnuts and cashew nuts, the main agricultural produce/exports of the country. The Agreement will also extend the cooperation with The Gambia to Trade Development programs for poverty reduction by providing technical and/or financial support for capacity building, Information exchange and knowledge dissemination.

The agreement was signed by Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of ITFC and H.E. Hon. Mrs. Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, Vice President and Minister for Women’s Affairs.

On this occasion, the Chief Executive Officer, ITFC, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, remarked “the  continuation of this important cooperation reaffirms ITFC’s proven strategy of investing in key economic sectors in our member countries, and thus contributing towards member countries’ development objectives.

Since inception in 2008, ITFC has approved a total of 30 financing operations for The Gambia for a total of US$437 million. On the Trade Development area, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol , indicated that ITFC is currently studying a request to undertake a very important trade development program for the Aflatoxin mitigation in The Gambia. This pilot project aims at eradicating the Aflatoxin fungus and enhancing the quality of the groundnut produced in The Gambia for local consumption and export  into the European and other international markets. Based on the result of the this pilot program, ITFC will study the possibility for its extension to the national level.

 

From her side, The Gambia’s Vice President and Minister for Women’s Affairs, H.E. Hon. Mrs. Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, thanked ITFC for its continued support and affirmed that The Gambia is seeking to improve its economy to consildate economic growth, create jobs, and build a better future for its people.

 

It is worth mentioning that ITFC’s coverage has spanned 41 countries and over 180 clients from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America. Through trade financing and trade development efforts in the agriculture, energy and industrial sectors, ITFC solutions has touched the lives of thousands of people and contributed to the socio-economic development of our member countries.