Egypt's caretaker government signed with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar loan aimed at funding the Egyptian associations of petroleum and basic commodities, official news agency MENA reported on Sunday. The loan from ITFC, which is a member of the Islamic Development Bank group, will be designated to import petroleum products and food commodities, wheat in particular, the report said. This agreement is part of a 5.2-billion-U.S.-dollar subsidy program announced by the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank for Egypt. The agreement was signed by Fayza Abou Al-Naga, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and CEO of the Islamic institution Waleed Abdel-Mohsen al-Waheeb at the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister al-Ganzouri and ministers of finance and petroleum. The ITFC is an institution aiming to improve the economies and people's living standards in the Islamic world. "This fund seeks to increase the trade exchanges among the members of the Islamic cooperation organization," said Waheeb.
