Egyptian insurance industry to develop national sustainable insurance roadmap in partnership with UN Environment
Cairo/Geneva,
7 May 2019—Egyptian
insurance industry leaders and financial regulators, UN officials and key
stakeholders gathered in Cairo last month to discuss ways to tackle major
sustainability challenges—from climate change, pollution, water scarcity and
disaster vulnerability; to social inequality, health risks, and the insurance
protection gap.
The event, Shaping the sustainable
insurance agenda in Egypt, produced a pioneering initiative to
develop a national sustainable insurance strategy and action plan—or a
“roadmap”—by 2020. This roadmap aims to harness the triple role of the Egyptian
insurance industry as risk managers, insurers and investors for economic,
social and environmental sustainability—in other words, sustainable
development. The event was co-organised by UN Environment’s Principles
for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI)—the largest collaborative
initiative between the UN and the global insurance industry—and by the Egyptian Financial
Regulatory Authority and the Insurance
Federation of Egypt.
“Sustainability is part of my core mandate as Egypt’s insurance
regulator. I am delighted that the Insurance Federation of Egypt will be
working together with the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority and UN
Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI) to deliver
a national sustainable insurance roadmap by next year,” said Dr Mohammed Omran, Chairman of
the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority. “We expect this
roadmap to enhance the Egyptian insurance industry’s resilience, stability and
sustainability, as well as contribute to achieving the aims of the UN
Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”
Since
sustainability challenges require collaborative action and innovative
solutions, and also present new opportunities and markets for the insurance
industry, the aims of the inaugural PSI Egyptian Market Event have been
championed by Alaa El-Zoheiry, Chairman of the Insurance Federation of Egypt.
As a result of constructive discussions during the PSI event in Cairo, the
Insurance Federation of Egypt recently announced that it has already taken the
first step in its sustainability journey by creating a Sustainability
Committee.
“As a cradle of civilisation, Egypt has shown resilience and
sustainability over several thousands of years. However, global sustainability
challenges such as climate change, unprecedented loss of biodiversity, a
polluted ocean and growing social inequality are threatening our common
future,” said Butch
Bacani, who leads the PSI at UN Environment and who chaired the inaugural PSI
Egyptian Market Event. “By developing a
national sustainable insurance roadmap, the Egyptian insurance industry is
demonstrating the vision, leadership, collaboration and ambition needed to
achieve sustainable communities and economies, and a healthy planet.”
This
inaugural PSI Egyptian Market Event was the first of its kind in the Middle
East & North Africa (MENA) region. It was designed to complement the aims
of the UNEP FI Regional Roundtable on Sustainable Finance for Africa & the
Middle East that was held in Cairo from 10 to 11 April, and the 2nd
PSI African Market Event in Lagos, Nigeria from 29 to 30 April.
***
For more
information, please contact:
UN
Environment (Geneva, Switzerland)
Sally
Wootton, UNEP FI Communications Lead: T: +41 22 917 8591 / sally.wootton@un.org
Geeda
Haddad, UNEP FI Middle East & North Africa Co-ordinator: T: +41 22 917 8148
/ geeda.haddad@un.org
Egyptian
Financial Regulatory Authority (Cairo)
Sina Hbous,
Advisor to the Chairman for Sustainable Development & Head of the
Sustainable Development Department / M: +20 100 530 047 / T: +20 2 3534 5350
extension 5450 / sina.hbous@fra.gov.eg
Insurance
Federation of Egypt (Cairo)
Azza Gaber,
Deputy Executive Director / M: +20 128 431 888 / azza.gaber@ifegy.net
***
About UN
Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative
Endorsed by
the UN Secretary-General and insurance industry CEOs, the Principles for
Sustainable Insurance (PSI) serve as a global framework for the insurance
industry to address environmental, social and governance risks and
opportunities—and a global initiative to strengthen the insurance industry’s
contribution as risk managers, insurers and investors to building resilient,
inclusive and sustainable communities and economies. Developed by UN
Environment’s Finance Initiative, the PSI was launched at the 2012 UN
Conference on Sustainable Development, and is the largest collaborative
initiative between the United Nations and the insurance industry.
www.unepfi.org/psi / Twitter:
@PSI_Initiative
About
the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority and its Sustainable Development
Department
The
Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) is responsible for supervising
and regulating non-banking financial markets and instruments, including the
Capital Market, the Exchange, and all activities related to insurance services,
mortgage finance, financial leasing, factoring and securitisation. The FRA’s
role is to regulate the market and ensure its stability and competitiveness to
attract more local and foreign investments. Towards the end of 2018, the FRA
created a dedicated policy department to support sustainable development
practices on the institutional level of FRA and to promote the concept to all
companies under its supervision, its affiliates and partners.
About
the Insurance Federation of Egypt
The
Insurance Federation of Egypt is a consortium of insurance companies,
reinsurance and insurance associations licenced to operate in the Arab Republic
of Egypt. It aims to raise the level of the insurance industry and insurance
professions associated with them and the organisation of competition, and to
foster scientific and cultural ties and social relations between companies and
its member associations and the General Authority for financial control and
other government agencies and NGOs on active insurance at home and abroad, as
well as examine the technical basis of price and compensation. Federation
membership is mandatory for all insurance companies, reinsurance and insurance
associations under the law of the supervision and control of insurance.
Comments
Post a Comment