JEDDAH, 15 April 2005 — The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Pakistan have signed a $100 million syndicated murabaha agreement for the import of crude oil and petroleum products.
As lead manager (mudarib), the IDB arranged the financing from the international market wherein 14 international banks participated. The agreement was signed by Shuja Shah, secretary, economic affairs division and alternate governor of IDB, on behalf of Pakistan, Dato Dr. Syed Jaafar Aznan, bank vice president (trade and policy) for IDB, and Feroze Cawasji, deputy managing director, Pak-Arab Refinery for PARCO as the executing agency. Hina Rabbani Khar, minister of state for economic affairs, and governor-IDB, representing Pakistan, was present on the occasion in Pakistan recently.
Under the agreement, the commodity would be purchased from the IDB member countries and PARCO would be solely responsible for the quality, condition, selection, specifications, deciding the need, the extent and the manner of transaction and storage of the product. IDB would be providing trade financing to Pakistan on a continuous basis.
Earlier, welcoming Aznan, the Pakistani minister said IDB has been a consistent supporter of Pakistan’s economic policies and a major partner in the country’s development. She said Pakistan had shown strong economic performance, and the government was giving high priority to the rural sector, infrastructure, good governance and alleviation of poverty.
The bank has provided financial assistance to Pakistan for a number of projects. These include Ghazi Barotha hydropower project, Rawat substation, the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Rawalpindi Medical College complex, Greater Hyderabad sewerage project, and Chagi water management project.
