The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has signed $800 million loan agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to support the energy sector, noted a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR).

Based in Saudi Arabia as the host country, ITFC is an autonomous entity within the Islamic Development Bank Group established with the purpose of advancing trade to improve the economic condition and livelihood of people across the Islamic world.

Following the signing, Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources underscored the depth of the Egyptian Saudi cooperation the energy sector, highlighting Suez–Mediterranean Pipeline(SUMED) project as a successful model of Arab integration and cooperation.

Established in 1974, SUMED, a major crude oil pipeline in Egypt that connects the Red Sea (Ain Sokhna terminal) to the Mediterranean (Sidi Kerir port near Alexandria and thus serves as a link between Arab Gulf producers and Europe by transporting crude oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, bypassing the Suez Canal.

He also added that the SUMED area’s advanced infrastructure contributes to securing supplies of petroleum products and liquefied natural gas for the local market.

For his part, ITFC CEO Adeeb Yousuf Al-Aama affirmed the corporation’s interest in its partnership with the petroleum ministry, pointing out that the total financing provided to EGPC has reached about $16 billion. The MoPMR did not provide the time frame of these loans.

On the sidelines of the signing, Badawi and Al-Aama discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation in the coming phase, including financing programs to support local market needs as well as potential collaboration in renewable energy, green energy, and the liquefied natural gas sector.

Al-Aama also invited Badawi to participate in the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group, scheduled to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The loan agreement is part of a wider assistance package from the ITFC to Egypt. The General Authority of Supply Commodities (GASC) was also granted $700 million as part of the ITFC’s annual program, according to Reuters.

Since 2008, the ​ITFC has approved over $24 billion in funding for Egypt ⁠to finance the energy sector, contribute to food security, and support ​small and medium-sized enterprises.

The ITFC also ​supported Egypt with foreign oil companies’ arrears that the government has ​pledged to completely pay off by the end of June, Reuters reported.

The loan comes as Egypt’s economy is dealing with the repercussions of the  US-Israeli war on Iran, piling fresh pressure ​on ⁠a country still navigating a fragile reform path under its $8 billion IMF program.