Reading Time: 2 minutes
A training on ‘Sustainable Finance for Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities’, organised by Bangladesh Bank and Improved Coordination of International Climate Finance (ICICF) project was held in Khulna recently. Thirty officials from the commercial bank branches in Khulna and Bangladesh Bank Khulna office participated in the event.
The ICICF project is implemented by GIZ Bangladesh on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The project has been working closely with the Government of Bangladesh to help the country mobilise climate finance from the international and national level. With an objective of supporting the financial sector in implementing the sustainable finance policy circulated by the central bank, the project has been working with the Sustainable Finance Department of Bangladesh Bank. As a part of this initiative, this workshop was arranged to enhance capacities of the divisional-level bankers.
Dr. Firdaus Ara Hussain, Principal Advisor, ICICF Project, emphasised the importance of strengthening capacities of relevant stakeholders for accessing international climate finance sources to ensure sustainable development initiatives of the country during her welcome remarks.
Sessions on topics related to sustainable financing, refinancing schemes, monitoring and reporting procedures were conducted by Mr. Khondkar Morshed Millat, Director of Sustainable Finance Department and Dr. Shah Md. Ahsan Habib of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM).
Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Khulna Office, Mr. S M Hasan Reza distributed certificates among the participants after the training. In his closing speech Mr. Reza emphasized the need of capacity strengthening support for the local bankers on sustainable financing. He thanked the participants and the organisers of the programme and requested GIZ to continue supporting this kind of initiatives in the local level for ensuring sustainable development.
An awareness building programme on the same topic targeted towards the local business community was arranged also. The speakers threw light on different pertinent issues related to the benefits of environment-friendly investment & policy-driven sustainable finance opportunities for investors. There was also an open discussion session where the participants discussed the challenges and scopes of sustainable investment in the local context.
