A training on ‘Sustainable Finance for Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities,’ organized by Bangladesh Bank and the Improved Coordination of International Climate Finance (ICICF) project was held in Khulna recently.
30 officials from the commercial bank branches in Khulna and Bangladesh Bank Khulna office participated in the event, reads a press release.
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 mobilize climate finance from the international and national levels.
The project has been working with the Sustainable Finance Department of Bangladesh Bank with the objective of supporting the financial sector in implementing the sustainable finance policy circulated by the central bank. This workshop was arranged to enhance the capacities of the divisional-level bankers.
Dr Firdaus Ara Hussain, principal advisor, ICICF Project, emphasized the importance of strengthening the 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 Khondkar Morshed Millat, director of the Sustainable Finance Department and Dr Shah Md Ahsan Habib of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM).
Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Khulna Office, S M Hasan Reza distributed certificates among the participants after the training. In his closing speech, Reza emphasized the need for capacity strengthening support for the local bankers on sustainable financing. He thanked the participants and the organizers of the programme and requested GIZ to continue supporting this kind of initiative at the local level for ensuring sustainable development.
An awareness-building programme on the same topic targeted toward the local business community was also arranged.
The speakers threw light on different pertinent issues related to the benefits of environment-friendly investment and 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.