STORY: Egypt, Saudi-based Islamic bank sign 1.6-bln-USD finance deals
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 4, 2025 / File
DATELINE: Feb. 5, 2025
LENGTH: 0:01:02
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. photos of the signing ceremony (Source: Egyptian Cabinet)
2. various of the Central Bank of Egypt
3. various of ships passing through the Suez Canal
4. various of U.S. dollars

STORYLINE:

Egypt signed two deals worth 1.6 billion U.S. dollars with the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) to finance trade and support private sector growth in the country, the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation said Tuesday.
   
One deal is a 1.5-billion-dollar program by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, an IsDB member, to finance petroleum and supply commodities in Egypt, the ministry said in a statement.
   
The other is a 100-million-dollar one by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, the IsDB's private sector arm, to finance small and medium-sized enterprises and large private sector companies in Egypt, it added.
   
The deals also include direct investments, advisory services for sukuk -- an Islamic financial certificate, and training in Islamic finance, to help Egypt diversify funding sources and attract foreign investments, the ministry said.
   
Signing the deals "is part of the government's plan to elevate the role of the private sector in Egypt's ongoing comprehensive and sustainable development," Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said at the signing ceremony. 

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)