Egypt is in talks with the International Islamic Trade Financing Corporation to increase cooperation and fund projects that help small and medium sized enterprises, the country's international cooperation ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The lender has already provided $2.3 billion in funds for state grains buyer GASC and Egypt's General Petroleum Company, up from an initial programme worth $1.1 billion, the statement said.

(Reporting by Moataz Abdelrahiem; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Catherine Evans)