Riyadh - Mubasher: The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has signed a $15 million trade finance agreement with Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank (JSCB).

This credit facility will provide JSCB with more liquidity to meet the growing demand for Sharia-compliant trade solutions for its private sector clients, including the SMEs, according to a press release on Tuesday.

In line with a $500 million framework agreement between the two parties, the financing is the second line of trade finance facility granted to JSCB to support the import and pre-export financing needs of the private sector in Uzbekistan.

In 2018, the bank has been provided with the first facility valued at $15 million.

Since 2019, the private sector and SMEs in Uzbekistan have been supported by ITFC, under 17 lines of trade finance facilities worth $166 million.

ITFC’s General Manager of Trade Finance Department in ITFC, Abdihamid Aweis Abu, said: "This new agreement reaffirms ITFC’s commitment in its long-standing partnership with the Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank and we are confident in the good prospects of our working relation with the bank."

Aweis Abu added: "We are focused on supporting the private sector, especially SMEs in their post-Covid recovery."