YAOUNDE, Cameroon, April 13, 2021/ -- The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-IDB.org),
a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and the Republic
of Cameroon have signed on April 12, 2021 two agreements in a virtual
signing ceremony between H.E. Alamine Ousmane Mey, Minister of Economy,
Planning and Regional Development (IsDB Governor) and Eng. Hani Salem
Sonbol, CEO, ITFC.
The first signing is a three-year framework
agreement amounting to US$ 750 Million under which ITFC will provide to
Cameroon a financing envelop of US $ 250 Million annually over a period
of three years to facilitate the imports of key commodities in the
strategic sectors of energy, mining, in addition to the health sector
with medical supplies including healthcare equipment. It will also
sustain its already strong support to the priority sector of
agricultural with the exports of agricultural commodities such as
cotton, soy amongst others.
Through this framework agreement,
ITFC will also be extending its support to SMEs and private sector
through financing facilities to local banks and financial institutions.
It will also support trade development through capacity building
initiatives to strengthen key sectors including healthcare. The
agreement also enshrines Cameroon’s membership to ITFC's flagship
program, the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) program, which aims to
facilitate trade and investment flows between Arab and African regions.
In this regard, H.E. Alamine Ousmane Mey stated that, “We are very pleased with the agreements signed with ITFC. The
three-year renewal of our cooperation framework is a sign of the good
and strong cooperation between Cameroon and ITFC, and of the continued
goodwill to implement a successful planning strategy in the country. The
US $750 Million financing will help the Cameroonian government
consolidate its economic recovery efforts in the specific context of the
fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, by facilitating the importation of
crucial energy products, medical supplies, and agriculture inputs,
whilst strengthening the fundamentals of the economy of Cameroon through
private sector and SME development. This is an opportunity for us to
reiterate Cameroon's sincere thanks to ITFC.”
The CEO of
ITFC, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol reiterated the Corporation’s commitment to
supporting economic recovery in Cameroon saying that, “We are keen
to continue our successful collaboration with the Government of Cameroon
through providing trade solutions that best meet the needs of the
country, especially in view of the impact of COVID-19. We are committed
to working closer with our partners and to support the country in its
efforts to develop important sectors such as agriculture, especially
cotton, which is a major export commodity, as well as to support the
country’s financial institutions to boost private sector development and
SME growth.”
The second signing is related to a EUR 98
Million Murabaha Financing agreement in favour of Société de
Développement du Coton (SODECOTON), to facilitate the purchase of
agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, seed
cotton, and soybeans. ITFC has a long-standing relationship with
Cameroon and SODECOTON. ITFC financing to date has enabled the country
to achieve a record production of 328,454 tons of seed cotton collected
in 2019/2020, of which 115,000 tons of cotton lint were exported despite
the COVID-19 pandemic.
No comments :
Post a Comment