On September 26^th the National Bank of Georgia in cooperation with the International Financial Cooperation (IFC) and the Sustainable Banking Network (SBN) hosted the Sustainable Finance workshop. The workshop brought together IFC experts, the representatives from the SBN member countries and regional central banks, senior representatives from Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Ministry of Finance of Georgia, Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Presidents/CEOs and senior leadership of financial institutions, and other stakeholders. 

The workshop began with an opening speech from the Governor of the National Bank of Georgia. Mr. Koba Gvenetadze emphasized the importance of environmental, social and sustainable development issues in ensuring financial stability as well as sustainable development in the long run.

"It is becoming more and more common to consider the sustainability issues. The world's leading central banks are actively incorporating environmental and social issues in their policies. We, at the National Bank of Georgia, understand the role that financial systems can play in sustainable development and are actively working for the development of sustainable finance framework. In this process we are cooperating with other countries, which have already developed such frameworks and international organizations that have rich experience in that regard."- was mentioned by the Governor in his speech.

The National Bank of Georgia has already made some progress in supporting the sustainable finance. The first step in that regard was to join the Sustainable Banking Network (SBN) in September 2017. A number of measures have been taken in order to increase awareness and a working plan has been developed to support sustainable finance. With the purpose of increasing awareness about the sustainable finance, the NBG in cooperation with the private sector translated the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green, Social and Sustainable Bond Principles in Georgian language. The translated documents are now available on the ICMA website¹.

Jan van Bilsen, IFC Regional Manager for the South Caucasus, said: "Sustainability is critical to business success. Today in Tbilisi, we mark the launch of sustainable finance reforms that can make Georgia's financial system and companies greener and better governed."

During the workshop participants discussed the ongoing challenges regarding the sustainable finance, considered the possibilities for the development of social and green bonds market and green credit line in emerging countries, talked about the importance of transparency on environmental issues, and emphasized the role of financial supervision, current regulatory experience and initiatives.

The workshop was followed by a joint NBG/IFC press conference, where the NBG governor and the IFC regional manager made statements regarding priorities towards sustainable finance and future plans. During the workshop, the NBG also signed a cooperation agreement with the IFC. 

Opening Speech by the governor of the National Bank of Georgia

                                                              

¹The official versions and the Georgian translation of the ICMA Principles can be found in the following webpage: https://www.icmagroup.org/green-social-and-sustainability-bonds/green-bond-principles-gbp/