A trade-promotion effort by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) just completed financing on its 20,000th transaction, which will provide 18,000 euros to cover clothing imported into Cyprus from Italy.

The bank's Trade Facilitation Program (TFP) was developed in 1999 to boost international trade in areas covered by the bank. It issues guarantees to international commercial banks and, in turn, helps eliminate finanical risks.

TFP has facilitated more than 160 foreign trade transactions in Cyrus since 2015.

“Transaction number 20,000 serves as a good example of how the program supports banks and their clients in Cyprus in growing their international business,” said Rudolf Putz, EBRD associate director and head of the TFP. “The success of our program is a sign of the appetite in the market to expand and strengthen trade relationships. This is encouraging because where there is trade, there is growth.”

In 2016, the program had its best year yet, with business volume up to 1.5 billion euros, compared to 867 million in 2015.