CAIRO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Friday signed with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) a six-billion-U.S. dollar deal for funding the importation of essential commodities, Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation announced in a statement.

       The framework agreement was signed on the sideline of the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group that was kicked off on Wednesday in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

       The agreement focuses on financing the imports of wheat as Egypt and other countries are passing through exceptional circumstances, given that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has impacted the supply chains.

       Since 2008, the ITFC, an entity affiliated with the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank, has provided Egypt with nearly 14 billion dollars for boosting sectors of energy and food, the statement said.