March 8: Deputy Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Dr Neelam Dhungana Timsina has said that climate change poses significant risk to the social inclusion, economic prosperity and financial stability of emerging and developing countries.

Addressing a meeting of the 'Inclusive Green Finance Working Group' and 'SME Working Group' organized by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), which started in Kathmandu from Tuesday, she pointed out the need to make the policy system strong and effective for risk reduction.

She also shed light on the recent legal and policy arrangements adopted by the Government of Nepal and the central bank for the promotion of green financing.

Similarly, she discussed the efforts made by the NRB for the promotion of small and medium businesses and access to financial resources in Nepal.

Executive Director of AFI Dr Alfred Hanning discussed the special contribution of small and medium enterprises in the creation of jobs and improvement of livelihood in developing countries. He expressed his view that concrete steps should be taken to reduce the impact of climate change in this region.

In this context, he expressed the belief that the meeting will be fruitful in policy cooperation, exchange of technical assistance and enhancement of capacity development among the member organizations of AFI.

Appreciating the policy initiative taken by the NRB for the promotion of green finance, he mentioned that it is exemplary for other member institutions.

More than 80 representatives of the central banks of 41 countries and other regulatory bodies of the financial sector are attending the four-day meeting, which will be held until March 10.

In the meeting, there will be a detailed discussion among the participants about the financial inclusion as well as the environmental and social impact caused by climate change, the policy practices at the regional and international levels to resolve the problems. Similarly, there will be an interaction on the contribution of small and medium businesses to the economy, gender equality and the existing challenges in this sector. Likewise, various member organizations will also present their experiences regarding the access to financial resources for the small and medium businesses and their contribution to the promotion of financial inclusion.

After the meeting, there is an agenda for discussion among the representatives of the member organizations regarding the policy practices and future course of action that can be adopted to address the challenges arising from climate change through small and medium enterprises.

AFI was established on January 1, 2008 with the common objective of promoting financial inclusion and expanding access to quality financial services at regional and international levels. This organization has been active in policy cooperation, technical assistance and knowledge exchange for the expansion of financial access and promotion of financial inclusion. Seven different thematic groups are active under AFI.