are earmarking a relatively greater share of their fiscal space to build their resilience to physical and transition risks. in parallel, on the funding side, the sustainable bond market continues to develop rapidly. these instruments serve as a catalyst for mobilising capital towards projects that address environmental, social, and governance ( esg ) challenges. the esg debt universe is fast approaching the $ 5 trillion mark, up from $ 3. 4 trillion in 2021. many of you will recall that at the cop 26 in glasgow, governments committed to finance the transition to a greener future. as an international financial centre ( ifc ), we ambition to evolve as a green finance hub for the region as well. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches in this respect, the bank of mauritius has been very active in promoting the sustainability agenda amongst its regulatees. in june 2021, we released a guide for the issue of sustainable bonds paving the way for the issue of green and sustainable bonds in mauritius. we also established our climate change centre in october 2021 and in june 2022, the guideline on climate related and environmental financial risk management was issued. in the area of reserves management, we have also embedded sustainability considerations in our internal investment strategy. in the journey that we are charting for mauritius as an ifc of choice in sustainable finance, banks – locally and regionally – will have a critical role to play. i would here make an appeal to all banks not to shy away from exploring opportunities on this new trajectory and join us in creating more depth and breadth for sustainable and esgrelated finance for our continent. i also wish to take this opportunity to make a call on all african central banks and nonbanking financial services regulators to join hands in the region in creating the appropriate regulatory regime to support the development of sustainable finance in the region. ladies and gentlemen, proper management of sovereign debt requires cross - fertilization of sound policies and discipline from related policy areas, including fiscal and monetary policy. i have no doubt that the topics on the agenda for this 2 - day workshop will spark enriching and interactive exchanges and promote further dialogue amongst relevant stakeholders. i understand that more than 200 delegates are joining us virtually from many parts of the world as well. i look forward to collaborating with the oecd on such workshops of high pertinence to our region in future. before finishing, i would like to thank the members of the governing board and the staff of the regional centre of excellence

harvesh seegolam : remarks - launch of the regional centre of exellence workshop remarks by mr harvesh seegolam, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the launch of the regional centre of excellence workshop on sovereign debt management, sustainable bonds, and debt transparency, ebene, 26 july 2023. * * * dr the honourable renganaden padayachy, minister of finance, economic planning and development the honourable mahen kumar seeruttun, minister of financial services and good governance members of the diplomatic corps mr carmine di noia, director for finance and enterprise affairs, oecd the first deputy governor of the bank of mauritius and chairperson of the financial services commission the second deputy governor of the bank of mauritius members of the governing board of the regional centre of excellence board directors of the bank of mauritius and of the financial services commission chairpersons and chief executive officers of para - statal bodies and other authorities chief executives of banks and financial institutions members of the media ladies and gentlemen distinguished guests all protocol observed i wish you all a very good morning and a warm digital welcome to those who are joining us online. i am pleased to join you this morning for this workshop on sovereign debt management, sustainable bonds and debt transparency, representing the 12th workshop organised by the rce since its establishment. ladies and gentlemen, the theme of this two - days'workshop is indeed very timely. moreso, that it comes at a moment where most countries are rethinking their debt strategies. the global economy is still recovering from the onset of the covid - 19 pandemic ; the energy and food crisis ; the challenges associated with climate change ; and the geopolitical tension associated with the war in ukraine. talks about the way forward regarding sovereign debt have been in the limelight, especially when we bear in mind that the first casualty of this polycrisis, has been the sovereign debt situation of countries globally. against a backdrop of rising interest rates, capital outflows, stalling growth, plummeting currencies and increased frequencies of natural catastrophes, the debate about which direction to take regarding the future of sovereign debt has never been so pertinent. to do justice to the debate, however, we need to re - cast debt using an appropriate and well - balanced context. not all debt is malignant! 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches taking a stroll down memory lane, one cannot be oblivious of the