The head of the Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance, Hani Sonbol, expected, in an interview with Al-Arabiya, that the value of the agreements signed on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Jeddah would reach $1.5 billion.
Sonbol said that it is expected that the number of agreements signed will reach about 60 for the Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.
He explained that there is an expected increase in the value of the agreements signed during the Jeddah meetings by about 15-20% over the Sharm el-Sheikh meetings, due to the clear increase in funding requests submitted by the member states of the two institutions.
He added that most of the agreements aim to provide financing lines for financial institutions in member states, in addition to agreements for projects in specific sectors of importance to countries, including energy, electricity and water, or agreements on trade development operations for member states.
And he indicated that most of the member countries of the Islamic Development Bank Group benefit from these agreements, such as Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and others, especially in the areas of agriculture, food security and energy.
The Islamic Development Bank Group launched its annual meetings in Jeddah on Wednesday, which will last for three days, to discuss facing the challenges facing the member countries of the Islamic Development Bank.
This year’s IDB Group Annual Meetings will bring together ministers from 57 member countries, senior government officials, and heads of international organizations.
The Group’s Annual Meetings are an important platform for global leaders, policy makers and players in the development landscape.