Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has granted membership to the Maldives.
In June this year, the Parliament of the Maldives approved the proposal of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for the Maldives to join ITFC. The Parliament approved the proposal by 39 votes in favour. The president made the proposal based on a paper submitted by the Ministry of Finance after discussions with the Cabinet of Ministers.
The ITFC is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). It was established with the ethos of advancing trade among the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries, which would contribute to the overarching 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 the member countries.
Maldives has been engaged with ITFC since 2005, even though it is not an official member. In 2005, ITFC granted the Maldives USD20 million as a tsunami relief package. Over the years, ITFC continued to offer the Maldives trade financing assistance, the latest of which was provided in May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic with the Maldives receiving a total of US20 million for procuring staple foods and medical supplies. A designated sum of USD5 million from the total amount contributed in 2020 was allotted for assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that were affected by the pandemic.