ITFC, Tunisia sign $310 million deal to support energy sector

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, has entered into a strategic framework agreement with the government of Tunisia.
On the sidelines of the two-day MENA-OECD Ministerial Conference that opened in Tunis, Tunisia, the agreement was signed by Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of ITFC and Fadhel Abdelkefi, Tunisian minister of development, investment and international cooperation, and an IDB governor.
The agreement provides a tool to support and encourage the development of the Tunisian economy. It again placed the ITFC at the forefront in the implementation of regional integration programs (AfTIAS) and inter-regional trade development (Arab Africa Trade Bridge Program and Special Program for Central Asia — SPCA), and ITFC trade development programs that contribute to the achievement of the trade related SDGs in IDB member countries.
The agreement brings closer the ITFC and the Tunisian government to hold strategic discussions on matters related to the country’s developmental plan for the next four years, underlining the former’s strategic role to play in the government of Tunisia in further strengthening the country’s economy.
Under the accord, the Tunisian IDB governor is mandated to position the framework agreement as an annual strategic exercise and engage in a high-level follow up committee to be established and to review the execution of the deal twice a year.
The deal also allows ITFC’s intervention in both the private and public sectors. This thus reflects the importance of supporting the private sector and get feedback on the areas in need of trade solutions and support. In that case, support for the private sector takes a priority that requires trade solutions.