Tunisia-Saudi Arabia: New framework agreement with International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation signed

Tunis: Minister of Economy and Planning, Feriel Ouerghi Sabai, and CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), Hani Salem Sonbol, signed in Riyadh, (KSA) a new framework cooperation agreement for the next three years, worth 1.2 billion dollars (or approximately 3.78 billion dinars), on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the Group of Islamic Bank for Development held from April 27 to 30, in the Saudi capital. According to a press release published Monday by the Department of the Economy, this agreement is intended to fund imports of public companies in raw materials such as crude oil and petroleum products. The minister expressed Tunisia's willingness to boost cooperation with the ITFC, in the fields of food security, energy and the environment. The two parties also discussed the importance of the ITFC «Arab-African Trade Bridges» Programme, which focuses on fostering cooperation and trade between Arab and African countries. They also had discussions on the preparations ahead fo r the 4th meeting of the Board of Governors to be held in Tunisia next July. Ouerghi had meetings with senior officials, including CEO of the Saudi Export-Import Bank, Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khalab on ways to promote bilateral cooperation between Tunisia and the bank by increasing trade between public bodies or private companies of the two countries. She also had a meeting with the Director General of the OPEC Fund for International Development, Abdulhamid Alkhalifa. It focused on the repercussions of geopolitical fluctuations and the repercussions of climate change on the economic, social and environmental conditions of developing countries, including Tunisia. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse