• Dr. Omran: FRA’s first report on sustainable development to be issued in April
• Dr. Omran: Intensive activity in financial education to discuss the most important developments in the international capital markets in cooperation with the American University in Cairo
Dr. Mohammed Omran – FRA’s Chairman revealed that FRA will be the first Egyptian governmental Authority that will issue a report on sustainable development by April 9 during the roundtable which will be hosted by Cairo as part of the PSI initiative. All parties in the Egyptian insurance industry will attend the event in order to put sustainable development within the determinants of investment decisions of this vital sector , besides agreeing on the procedural steps necessary to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).
FRA’s Chairman stated that the report represents the efforts exerted by the regulator on non-banking financial sector in Egypt to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) in line with Egypt Vision 2030 and compatible with what agreed by the international financial regulatory bodies in supporting sustainable development goals (SDGs).
He added that the report will cover FRA’s efforts and achievements during 2017 and 2018 at the institutional level. On the other hand, the report will present FRA’s efforts to integrate the concepts and strategies of sustainable development within the decisions governing non-banking financial activities.
Also, FRA’s first Sustainability Report will include a number of goals that oblige the Authority as being a governmental body to achieve within a specific time.
This came during a seminar hosted by the Authority at its headquarters in Smart Village yesterday. The seminar was attended by leaders of 38 Egyptian insurance companies, co-operative insurance society and the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance intermediaries to engage them in a constructive dialogue on the importance of integrating and applying the principles of sustainability in the Egyptian insurance sector for the first time. Dr. Hussein Abaza, Sustainability Expert, introduced the concept of “sustainable development” to the representatives of insurance companies and explored the possibilities of linking it to its agenda. He added that investing in the environmental and natural resources as well as becoming a necessity, it represents a worthy investment opportunity which achieve a continuous material return in the long term and at the same time preserves the environment.
Dr. Omran said that the time program set for implementing the comprehensive strategy of non-banking financial sector includes during the first four months of 2019 a number of activities to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable development principles and how to integrate them into the operating systems of financial institutions. That is besides encouraging the adoption of Natural Resources Conservation and Natural Resource Scarcity for a better world. He added that FRA relies heavily on insurance sector upon adopting the principles of sustainability. He noted that insurance sector continues to be the locomotive of development in the Egyptian economy and this grants it the priority to organize a meeting to explain the principles of sustainability in order to raise awareness of this sector and keep pace with global developments in this regard.
FRA’s Chairman emphasized that all countries need financing packages ranging from 7-9 trillion US dollars annually until 2030 to achieve Sustainable Development Goals of the UN-XVII – announced at the United Nations General Assembly after its first initiative millennium development goals in 2015.
Dr. Omran added that in order to implement the Paris Climate Agreement, ratified by 195 countries to maintain global warming between 1-2 degrees by 2050, we need between 1-2 trillion US dollars each year, asserting that these initiatives will be achieved only with sufficient finance. Also, he noted that the non-banking financial sector, in particular insurance activity, is truly qualified to provide this finance to achieve “Egypt 2030 vision”, which represents a sustainable development program linked to the UN goals.
FRA’s Chairman stressed that sustainable development programs require huge investment in the traditional infrastructure. He also noted that the human experience in all parts of the world has not reached the identification of one mechanism or one mean which we can depend on to finance the sustainable development process alone. Otherwise, the human experience ended up that those communities which are able to achieve its ambitious goals, are able to mobilize and achieve financing partnership between the public and private sectors together and guide them efficiently in the arteries of its economy to achieve its sustainable goals.
FRA’s Chairman emphasized that the insurance sector is characterized by its ability to mobilize savings and re-employ them. Therefore, comes the interest in sustainable insurance activity which aims at reducing risks, developing innovative solutions, improving business performance and contributing to environmental, social and economic sustainability.
It is worth noting that the UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI Initiative) includes four basic principles:
1-
1-We will embed in our decision-making environmental, social and governance issues relevant
to our insurance business.
2-We will work together with our clients and business partners to raise awareness of environmental, social and governance issues, manage risk and develop solutions.
3- We will work together with governments, regulators and other key stakeholders to promote widespread action across society on environmental, social and governance issues
4- We will demonstrate accountability and transparency in regularly disclosing publicly our progress in implementing the Principles
In the same context, today FRA completes its cultural activities at its headquarters in Smart Village by a seminar on “The Most Important Developments in the Global Capital Markets”. The seminar is presented by the foreign expert, Dr. David Betty, a corporate governance development expert at the University of Toronto, Canada. He discussed decrease in the number of companies whose securities are traded in the United States and the United Kingdom by 50% over the past 25 years, due to lack of listing of new companies as a result of short-term trading and the spread of direct mutual funds.
The event was held within the framework of the protocol of cooperation with the American University in Cairo in the presence of representatives of Brokerage Companies, investment financial institutions, insurance companies, and major private insurance funds.
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