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Suriname Signs $30 Million Deal with Islamic Bank In Effort Towards Economic Recovery

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Minister of Finance of Suriname Gillmore Hoefdraad and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation CEO Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol (dtwonline.com)

Minister of Finance of Suriname Gillmore Hoefdraad and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation CEO Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol (dtwonline.com)

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Gillmore Hoefdraad, Minister of Finance of Suriname, made a special visit in December to Saudi Arabia, where he signed a $30 million syndicated murabaha (non-interest-bearing) term sheet for supporting Suriname’s economic development through financing strategic imports, according to a press release from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

The $30 million financing extended to Suriname is to support the agricultural, medical and industrial sectors. Supplies that will be purchased under this arrangement include basic goods, raw material for production of basic goods, inputs for the agriculture sector, as well as medicine and medical supplies.

Commenting on the signing, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of ITFC, said, “This trade financing is at the heart of ITFC’s role in supporting the development of strategic commodities that underpin a nation’s economic welfare and thus provide sustainable livelihoods to a significant proportion of the population.”

Moreover, ITFC is indirectly contributing to the social welfare and economic recovery of Suriname. Hoefdraad commended the IsDB Group for its role in Suriname’s socio-economic development. He added that Suriname relies heavily on imports for consumption and this operation will benefit all economic sectors.

“Sustaining these imports is of strategic importance to the economic development of the country,” he said.

The IsDB Group has provided financial assistance amounting to $145 million for the health, education and transport sectors of Suriname.

Read more here.

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