Egypt's Supply Minister Sherif Farouk met Tuesday with the head of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to discuss expanding cooperation on financing food imports and strengthening the country's strategic reserves, the ministry said. The Egyptian minister described the partnership with the ITFC as "fruitful," citing past agreements between the ministry's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) and the trade finance body to fund the purchase of key staples. He said Cairo is seeking to broaden the scope of joint work and open new channels of collaboration. ITFC CEO Adeeb Al Aama praised the longstanding cooperation, saying total approved trade financing for Egypt's supply sector has exceeded $7.5 billion since the start of the relationship, helping secure imports of essential food commodities. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
