The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, represented by its regional office in the Arab Middle Region, participated during the period from March 17-19, 2023 AD, in the activities of the Sustainability and Finance Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh, Arab Republic of Egypt, which was organized by the Union of Arab Banks, under the auspices of the Central Bank of Egypt, and with the participation of more than From 200 banking and financial leaders from 14 Arab countries.

The forum, which lasted for three days, aimed to enhance the role of the banking sector in achieving the goals of sustainable development by shifting towards banking sustainability, as it discussed several topics, including sustainable financing and its role in supporting financial and banking stability, global standards for disclosure and assessing the effects of banking sustainability, in addition to financial technology and its role. In promoting sustainable financing mechanisms, the role of the agricultural sector in mitigating the effects of climate change and adapting to it was also discussed, and the need to calculate the carbon footprint and trade carbon balances in the agricultural sector to contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change and improving the living conditions of farmers, and the need to find local companies that work on calculating emissions carbon for agricultural activities, as a first step on the road to carbon trading in global markets.

The forum dealt with the strategies, roles and initiatives of financing institutions, international organizations, central banks, banks, financial markets and governmental bodies and organizations in promoting sustainability and sustainable financing and their contribution to enhancing financial and banking stability. The requirements for applying and including sustainable financing policies within the credit and investment policies of banks were discussed, and best practices and initiatives were reviewed. global sustainable finance.

The forum came out with several recommendations, most notably calling on the Union of Arab Banks to coordinate with the Arab Monetary Fund to benefit from Egypt’s experience in sustainable development programs and from the experience of the Central Bank of Egypt in the field of sustainable financing and to transfer this experience to Arab countries, and the need to prepare a road map and training plan to support capacity building in the field of sustainability. And sustainable financing in Arab banks, as well as the exchange of experiences between member states, with the importance of establishing partnerships between the Federation of Arab Banks and a number of international partners and international institutions specialized in the field of sustainability to get acquainted with international best practices, and the need for integration of goals and policies between central banks and relevant national authorities was emphasized. In a way that contributes to achieving the goals of sustainable development, while urging Arab banks to continue continuous efforts in the field of financial inclusion and micro, small and medium enterprises, because of their great role in achieving the goals of sustainable development.