The second meeting of the Board of Directors of the AfTIAS 2.0 program was held on October 30, 2022, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (LAS) in Cairo, Egypt. This meeting was part of the ongoing cooperation between the Department of Arab Economic Integration in the Economic Sector of the LAS and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to follow up on the implementation of the second phase of the ‘Aid for Trade Initiative.’ The event also highlighted the most notable achievements in the first year since its launch on October 27, 2021.
The Board of Directors of the AfTIAS 2.0 program announced the approval of 13 projects to address the challenges facing trade in the Arab region. It also witnessed the signing of seven partnership agreements between the ITFC and eight implementing agencies for five projects in the program’s first phase.
The AfTIAS 2.0 program approved 13 projects benefiting Algeria (two projects), Yemen, Mauritania, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt (two projects). All Arab countries will benefit from three regional projects approved by the program, including: ‘Supporting the Advancement of the Arab Economic Integration System’ for the League of Arab States; ‘Facilitating Agricultural Trade in the Arab Region’ for the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development; and a project for the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport. These projects will include establishing an Arab mechanism and database to support the shipbuilding and repair industry in Arab countries. The program also approved a fourth regional project benefiting Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Sudan, and Comoros, which the Arab Tourism Organization will implement under the ‘Digital Entrepreneurship Program for the Tourism Sector in Arab Countries.’
The meeting was chaired by Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of ITFC and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AfTIAS 2.0 Program. It was attended by several high-level dignitaries, ambassadors of Arab countries and their representatives to the LAS, members of the Board of Directors of AfTIAS, representatives of regional and international organizations, and several AfTIAS 2.0 focal points.
The total funds allocated by the AfTIAS 2.0 program to date, since its launch in October 2021, for these 13 approved projects amount to approximately US$3.5 million. The projects will be implemented through 16 implementing agencies, following the schedule approved for each project.