Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, Chief Executive Officer of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, met with Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – an organization whose mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world – on matters of common interest on the sidelines of the MENA-OECD Ministerial Conference that was held in Tunis last Oct. 3-4. In the talks, Eng. Hani Sonbol leveraged on ITFC's capability for trade development activities and, therefore, seeks to build partnerships in this regard, aside from exploring the other possibility of sharing expertise on topics of importance, and be part of the OECD led Euro-Mediterranean dialogue on trade-related matters. Mutual areas of cooperation were tackled, where they have discussed the trade agenda, and the contribution of the two entities to trade to achieve growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development. Moreover, Eng. Hani Sonbol shared views on the SMEs development and ITFC's initiatives for SMEs promotions in the member countries, in addition to ITFC/IDB Group Trade data and contribution in OECD reports and databases. "I take this opportunity to commend the Secretary General's efforts and personal commitment to the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue, in addition to this successful Ministerial Conference that tackles critical global issues like women empowerment, responsible governance, environment protection, economic sustainability and private sector involvement." Eng. Sonbol will also invite Gurria to attend ITFC's side event during the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UNFCCC scheduled to take place on Nov. 7-18, 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco. Eng. Hani Sonbol was also key participant in the Ministerial Conference: "Better Policies for Inclusive growth and Economic Integration in the MENA Region". In addition, ITFC will renew its framework agreement with the government of Tunisia, during the Ministerial conference in Tunis for the import of strategic commodities like crude oil, petroleum imports, natural gas and electricity, which will boost the energy sector and have a tremendous impact on the welfare of the country.
