CAIRO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Ministry of Finance on Tuesday signed a 500-mln-U.S. dollar five-year financing agreement with the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to finance wheat imports, the ministry said in a statement.

"This is the first deal signed with ADEX, a financial arm of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), in light of the two countries' strong relations and the joint cooperation for promoting development and boosting food security," the statement quoted Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat as saying.

The funds will be disbursed in five tranches, each valued at 100 million dollars, she added.

Noting that food security is a vital issue and a matter of national security, Al-Mashat said Egypt has enough wheat reserves for five months' consumption and the funding will help meet the local market's needs for wheat amid the state's efforts to maintain food security via soft funding.

Since its founding in 1971, ADFD has financed 20 projects in Egypt that cover various priority sectors, said the minister.

During the signing ceremony, Egypt's Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said Egypt seeks more cooperation with the ADFD to accomplish social and economic development, provide a decent life to citizens, and improve the people's living conditions as well as reduce burdens of inflationary impacts.

Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, suffers from global supply chain interruption and price hikes due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The country imports two-thirds of its annual consumption of 18 million tons of wheat, according to the state-run Ahram newspaper. Enditem

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