Planning Ministry Unveils Groundbreaking Export Academy in Collaboration with IsDB

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Governor of Egypt at the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB), Engineer Hani Salem Sanbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and Acting CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, Dr. Ali El-Meselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Eng. Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, via video conference; witnessed the signing of the Annual Work Program between the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the Arab Republic of Egypt for 2024, within the framework agreement signed between the two parties for a period of 5 years, as part of the institution's strategy to work with vital sectors in the Arab Republic of Egypt with the aim of contributing to increasing the growth rate, achieving sustainable economic development, and creating more job opportunities for youth and women.

The signing was done by Engineer Hani Salem Sanbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and Acting CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, Mr. Ahmed Youssef Mansour, Advisor to the Minister of Supply supervising the General Authority for Supply Commodities, and Accountant/ Ashraf Abdullah, Assistant Minister of Petroleum for Financial and Economic Affairs of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

As part of the institution's efforts to support foreign trade and the export sector, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation coordinates with the relevant Egyptian ministries and entities to implement several programs aimed at developing trade. In this regard, the Arab-African Trade Bridges program implements several activities to support Egyptian exporters in accessing new foreign markets. Additionally, several important projects are being adopted and implemented by the Trade Assistance Initiative for Arab Countries (Aftias 2.0) in its second phase, such as the launch of the Export Academy in cooperation with the Egyptian Exporters Association "Expo Link" and the follow-up on the implementation of the She Trades program in the traditional crafts and food industries sectors, as well as the follow-up on the implementation of the Step Towards Export Training Program aimed at supporting small exporters and small project owners.

To support achieving food security in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation's program includes the implementation of several projects, including the establishment of a Tomato Industries Development Center in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Cooperation will also be established with both the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and the General Authority for Supply Commodities in the field of digitizing international trade through the Digitalization of Shipping Documents project.

During the signing ceremony of the 2024 Annual Work Program, ministers and attendees witnessed the announcement of the launch of the Export Academy, the first of its kind in the Middle East under the Arab Trade Assistance Program "Aftias 2.0" affiliated with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, through joint efforts between the Egyptian Exporters Association "Expolink" and the Foreign Trade Training Center at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

This academy will work on enhancing the export capabilities of hundreds of entrepreneurs, especially women, through training programs designed to enhance their capacities and skills to enable them to export value-added products that meet the requirements of global markets.

During her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said clarified that the program aims to provide comprehensive financial solutions to Egypt amounting to 1.5 billion dollars, through the signing of this program with both the Egyptian General Authority for Supply Commodities and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, enhancing the state's ability to mitigate the severity of economic and social repercussions of intersecting and successive international and regional geopolitical crises. She further emphasized that the signing of the program crowns a long and fruitful journey of partnership and cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation that has extended for nearly 15 years.

El-Said explained that the signing ceremony marks the official launch of the activities of the first Export Academy in the Arab Republic of Egypt, established in the context of cooperation between the Ministry of Trade and Industry, represented by the Foreign Trade Training Center, and the Egyptian Exporters Association Expolink, with the support of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, within the framework of Egypt's contribution to the second phase of the "Trade Assistance Initiative for Arab Countries (Aftias 2)", indicating that the academy's programs and activities will contribute to supporting Egypt's direction to double the size of Egyptian exports, enhance regional economic integration, and increase intra-trade, which helps drive economic growth and create job opportunities.

El-Said also affirmed the joint desire of both sides to continue and intensify cooperation in the next phase, especially with the expected launch of the second phase of the Women in Global Trade project in Egypt, which comes within the framework of Egypt's contribution to the Aftias 2 program, explaining that the project aims to enhance women's entrepreneurship in Egypt. She added that the new phase of the program aims to enhance the capacity building and qualification of medium and small enterprises owned or managed by women in the handicrafts sectors, through the continued support of 30 female graduates of the first phase and supporting women in the agricultural food sector for export, in addition to improving the business environment to promote export growth and create a more efficient ecosystem to support those enterprises.

El-Said pointed out that the implementation of the Step Towards Export Training Program also comes within the framework of Egypt's contribution to the Aftias 2 program, which witnessed the graduation of the first batch of trainees in the program, totaling 200 trainees from various governorates of the republic. She added that the inclusion of the training program represents a step towards exporting from launching the initiative "Training and Qualification of Persons with Disabilities in the Field of Export", allowing a percentage of the total number of trainees targeted by the program to be allocated to qualify people with disabilities for decent employment in the field of export. She explained that 20 people with disabilities were trained in the first phase of the program, with courses planned for them during the second phase, which began at the beginning of 2024, targeting twice the number of trainees, totaling 400 trainees from all governorates of the republic, making the program in line with the efforts of the Egyptian state to support and build the capacities of persons with disabilities and empower them, in implementation of the targets of Egypt's Vision 2030.

El-Said confirmed that the renewal of Egypt's membership in the Trade Bridges program aims to build on the other achievements realized within the framework of the program over the past four years, most notably the signing of the third annual program for the benefit of the Arab Republic of Egypt in June 2022, highlighting the results of cooperation between the two sides within the framework of the ongoing implementation of the qualification and training program for 50 women for export in the fields of handicrafts and heritage, which aims to support and develop the export capacities of 50 projects owned or managed by women in the handicrafts and heritage sectors, including prominent exhibitors and participants at Our Heritage Exhibition for Heritage and Handicrafts Products, as well as small and micro projects owned by women, indicating the successful integration of the institution's programs with initiatives to support and economically empower women, adopted by the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Regarding the future prospects of cooperation between the Egyptian government and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, Dr. Hala El Said highlighted the leading role played by the corporation in supporting economic development in member countries. This is achieved through providing financing for private sector projects and local infrastructure projects. Dr. El Said announced during the ceremony the signing of a credit facility agreement with Banque Misr worth $30 million to support small and medium-sized projects. This agreement extends the ongoing cooperation with Banque Misr, which began in 2016 with a $25 million credit line also aimed at supporting small and medium-sized projects in Egypt.

Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, expressed gratitude to the Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance for its pivotal role in promoting economic activity globally and facilitating trade exchanges. She highlighted the corporation's significant efforts in enhancing member countries' international trade structures by supporting access to global markets and facilitating the movement of goods to foreign markets.

Dr. Rania Al-Mashat emphasized the Egyptian government's keenness to strengthen and develop all open channels of cooperation with the Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance, building upon the achievements made over the past years since the corporation's inception in 2008.

She explained that the new program represents a new step taken by the Egyptian economy to confront current global challenges that have had negative impacts on global trade flows. Despite these challenges, she expressed confidence that the Egyptian economy will continue to evolve and maintain its current development trajectory despite difficult global circumstances. She underscored that the current economic foundation of the Egyptian economy has significantly strengthened its ability to resist and overcome challenges to achieve its primary goals.

Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance and Acting CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, stated, "The Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance is a longstanding partner of the Arab Republic of Egypt." This year marks 15 years of cooperation between the two sides, during which the corporation has allocated $16.5 billion for financing petroleum and food commodity supplies, as well as various programs and projects in Egypt since 2008. He emphasized the corporation's pride in this strategic partnership with the Arab Republic of Egypt, which expands annually to include new programs and projects that empower women, youth, small, medium, and micro-enterprises, as well as exporters. This includes the launch of the Export Academy this year, which extends the cooperation with the Egyptian Exporters Association "Expolink" and the Foreign Trade Training Center to create a new generation of Egyptian exporters capable of exporting their products to global markets.

Engineer Sonbol also affirmed that the Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance will work during 2024 to increase cooperation with its partners in programs such as the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program and the second phase of the Trade Assistance Initiative for Arab Countries ("Afatis 2.0").

At the end of the ceremony, ministers and the CEO of the Islamic Corporation for Trade Finance honored outstanding graduates from the Export STEP Training Initiative launched by the corporation last year in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority and the Foreign Trade Training Center. The initiative aimed to train and qualify 600 entrepreneurs for export at the Foreign Trade Training Center to prepare a generation of qualified exporters and contribute to developing the competitiveness of Egyptian exports in global markets.