The Finance Ministry has officially launched its new framework for issuing sustainable sovereign debt, according to a ministry statement (pdf). The framework will allow the state to raise money for a wider range of social and environmental projects — including the Decent Life initiative — through the issuance of sustainable development bonds.

Details: The Sovereign Sustainable Financing Framework (pdf) broadens the ministry’s green financing framework, allowing the government to issue new kinds of debt instruments that foster social and sustainable development. These include blue bonds (which finance sustainable ocean economies) and gender bonds, which help bridge the economic gender gap. Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank were responsible for structuring the framework, the FinMin statement reads. Moody’s ESG Solutions verified the framework’s sustainability credentials, describing it as “robust” and “coherent.”

REMEMBER- The ministry is hoping to issue USD 500 mn of sustainable development bonds before the end of this fiscal year, part of a longstanding strategy to diversify Egypt’s sources of financing and switch to longer-term debt.