On September 18, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade/Islamic Development Bank Governor from Tajikistan, Zavqi Zavqizoda met here with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), Nazeem Noordali, who was on a working visit in Tajikistan.

What is the difference between a CEO and a COO? A CEO is the top-most ranking person at a firm, responsible for the long-term health and direction of the firm, while a COO is the second-highest individual in the firm, reporting to the CEO and responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm.

The press center of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) says Zavqizoda presented the extensive investment opportunities in various sectors of the country's national economy and requested the ITFC COO to increase funding in priority sectors of the national economy under the Cooperation Agreement between Tajikistan and ITFC.  

Specifically, this reportedly included enhancing the country’s export capacity, establishing textile enterprises and halal production facilities, constructing hydropower and solar power plants, building logistic centers, as well as developing trade, tourism, and banking.

The MoEDT press center notes that it is worth mentioning that, to date, ITFC has completed investment projects in Tajikistan amounting to 182 million USD, with an additional three projects valued at 18 million USD currently in progress.

For his part, the ITFC COO, Mr. Nazeem Noordali, reportedly expressed Cooperation’s readiness to invest in the implementation of the specified projects and further expand cooperation.

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation is an autonomous entity within the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group created with the purpose of advancing trade to improve the economic condition and livelihood of people across the Islamic world.  ITFC has consolidated all the trade finance businesses that used to be handled by various windows within the IsDB Group.  It commenced operations in January 2008.  The consolidation of the IsDB Group’s trade finance activities under a single umbrella increased the Corporation’s efficiency in service delivery by enabling rapid response to customer needs in a market-driven business environment.

ITFC aims to develop and expand intra-Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) trade.  ITFC advances trade by contributing to the development of markets and trading capacities to help all OIC member countries do business more effectively with each other and the rest of the world.