The International Islamic Trade Finance Cooperation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Attijariwafa Bank, a Moroccan bank and one of the largest in Africa.

The MoU will focus on opportunities for joint trade financing in Morocco and Africa in accordance with the principles of Shariah.

The signing ceremony took place in line with the opening ceremony of the 4th International Forum for Africa Development, organized by Attijariwafa bank in Morocco from Feb. 25-26.

The MoU was signed by Hani Salem Sonbol, acting CEO of ITFC, and Mohamed El Kettani, chairman and CEO of Attijariwafa bank.

The main objective of the MoU is to promote a long-term and comprehensive relationship between ITFC and Attijariwafa bank in different areas that include bilateral treasury and interbank transactions for liquidity investment and borrowing foreign exchange.

In addition, the cooperation will involve identifying opportunities for structured trade finance operations in Morocco and other markets.

Sonbol commented: “This signing is a setup for a strategic partnership and aims at developing unique trade finance solutions, which serve the needs of our member countries in the region. It is ITFC’s mandate to seek partnerships to promote intra-trade among OIC Member countries and improve the livelihood of its people.”

El Kettani said: “The signing of this MoU with ITFC reflects our mutual willingness to support Dar Safaa in its first steps in the Islamic finance arena, and on the continental level, to spearhead the trade flows between Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa.”

ITFC states it provided over $ 2 billion in financing to support Morocco’s strategic sectors since its inception in 2008, specifically for the energy and steel industries.