The president is to seek approval from the People’s Majlis, for Maldives to join the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

This was revealed by the President’s Office on Tuesday, following a cabinet meeting.

As such, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih reached the decision following deliberations on a paper proposed by the Ministry of Finance at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

A member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), ITFC was established with the philosophy of advancing trade among the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which are expected to contribute to the principal goal of improving the socio-economic conditions of people across the globe.

The ITFC’s trade finance division provides Shariah-compliant trade financing for OIC members, focusing on financing intra-trade between member countries.

Despite not being an official member, Maldives has been engaged with ITFC since 2005, when ITFC granted the Maldives USD 20 million as a tsunami relief package.

ITFC has continued to offer the Maldives trade financing assistance over the years, most recently having provided aid in May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As such, the corporation provided the government of Maldives with USD 20 million for procuring staple foods and medical supplies.

A designated sum of USD five million from the total amount contributed in 2020 was allotted for assisting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that were affected by the pandemic.