The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, organized its second African-Asian Cotton B2B Meeting event as part of its Cotton Development and Partnership Program in Jakarta, 12 April 2017. The first meeting was conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 9 April 2017.

The Meeting supports in the first place the Indonesian textile industry, which is the source of employment and export earnings for Indonesian economy. ITFC was able to bridge the gap between Asian countries, specifically Bangladesh and Indonesia, to reach out and develop new business partnerships with African cotton suppliers.

The event was inaugurated by H.E. Dr Bandar M.H. Hajjar, Chairman, Islamic Development Bank Group. The meeting was also supported by KADIN, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and attended by West African cotton producers, the African Cotton Association, the Indonesian Textile Mills Association, Indonesian Spinning mills and Textile companies.

The textiles industry in Indonesia is a critical aspect of the economic growth, and provides great opportunities of employment. Mr. Nazeem Noordali, Chief Operating Officer of ITFC made a statement confirming ITFC’s mandate and role in supporting Indonesian textile industry, namely cotton for this purpose. “ITFC is exerting efforts in providing new business opportunities and new markets for the Indonesian cotton importers to improve the Indonesian textile industry. Through facilitating this important platform for the African Cotton suppliers with the Indonesian buyers, we are eager to contribute to the development of this strategic sector and so contribute to the economic and social welfare of our member countries.”

Textile and garment industry in Indonesia will continue its development to the new phase with more advance technology. Based on statistics of Ministry of Industry of Indonesia, textile and garment keep has growth compared to other manufacturing industries.

Calik Cotton, sponsored the meeting as the event’s strategic partner.  Calik Cotton supplies cotton of different origins grown both in Turkey and abroad and serves major local and international textile industrialists.  Moreover, this event serves as a platform for networking and business partnerships, and provides an opportunity for discussing ideas, industry trends and market updates.

ITFC is recognized as the leading trade financier for cotton in West Africa. As such, it is mandated to facilitate and promote intra-trade among Member Countries of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), and assist them in developing the competitiveness of their strategic products.