Under the auspices of Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDBG), the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The National Transport and Logistics Company (SNTL) in Morocco. The signing ceremony took place during the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco. The MoU comes as a milestone under the umbrella of Arab-Africa Trade Bridge Program that aims to promote the trade between the two regions. ITFC will seek through this agreement to mobilize funds for mounting a study for the development of logistics platforms in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries to facilitate trade and investment between these countries, the Kingdom of Morocco, and Arab states. The MoU was signed by Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, Chief Executive Officer of ITFC, and Mohamed Ben Ouda, Chief Executive Officer of SNTL, in the presence of senior representatives from both entities. During the ceremony, Ouda said this MoU will expand the scope of cooperation and promote the strategic partnership between the ITFC and the Kingdom of Morocco. The Moroccan government is keen to initiate a study for the development of logistical platforms, in order to facilitate trade and investment between the Kingdom of Morocco and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Eng. Sonbol said: «This is indeed a strategic partnership with SNTL to achieve our mutual goal of facilitating intra-trade among member countries. It is considered an important step under the framework of the Arab-Africa Trade Bridge program, which was designed by the ITFC and its partners, members of the Coordination Group and ICIEC. He added: «I am confident that this MOU will open the doors for opportunities that will benefit not only the Kingdom of Morocco, but the Arab and African countries.» The said study will include analysis of the legal and economic climate of the targeted countries; diagnosis of the logistical infrastructure; trade and investment flows; and develop an economic model for the network of the logistics platforms based on the results of the analysis and identifying investment opportunities for these countries. — SG
