ahmet ismaili : opening speech – " sustainable finance forum " opening speech by mr ahmet ismaili, governor of the central bank of the republic of kosovo, at the sustainable finance forum, pristina, 5 october 2023. * * * dear, ms. zhang and mr. marquier, ifc representatives dear, mr. fuchs from swiss embassy dear, mr. balija from kba dear, eu ambassador szunyog board members of the central bank of the republic of kosovo government representatives representatives of the central banks, and saving associations donor, partners, and financial institutions dear, colleagues ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to open this forum and welcome you all to the first sustainable finance forum, co - organized by the central bank of the republic of kosovo, the kosovo banking association, international finance corporation and sustainable banking and finance network, in partnership with seco. sustainable finance is the new concept which has emerged from the environmental and climate changes, with associated risks and opportunities to the economies. following the adoption of the paris agreement on climate change and the un 2030 agenda for sustainable development in 2015, governments all over the world are making strides to transition to low - carbon and more circular economies on a global scale. republic of kosovo's environmental commitments are aligned with the eu strategy, and is was one of the six western balkan countries that signed the sofia declaration ( november 2020 ), where the countries acknowledged the european green deal, as a cornerstone for the green agenda for the western balkans ( gawb ). the energy strategy of the republic of kosovo 2022 - 2031, adopted by the parliament of the republic of kosovo, is led by a vision of : a sustainable energy sector integrated into the pan - european market, ensuring energy security and affordability for citizens. also, the strategy foresees by 2025 to complete all preparations for implementing a carbon pricing system and committed to achieve net - zero emissions by 2050. 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches the republic of kosovo has adopted the program with imf " resilience and sustainability facility " ( rsf ) of sdr61. 95 million, to support climate change mitigation and adaptation actions, exploit synergies with other official support and help catalyze private investment in green energy. moving to a low - carbon or green economy would need extraordinary levels of fresh capital investment, notably in the form of green financing, to support activities that cut ghg emissions and

the third anniversary of the establishment of the kosovo credit guarantee fund honourable, mr rinor gjonbalaj, chairman of the board of directors at the kcgf mr christian heldt, german ambassador to the republic of kosovo, mr bedri hamza, minister of finance, mrs lisa magno, usaid kosovo mission director, mr riccardo serri, head of the eu office, mr alessandro tappi, chief investment officer at eif, i am honoured to celebrate today with you the third anniversary of the establishment of the kosovo credit guarantee fund. it has been a privilege for the central bank to contribute, within its legal mandate, to the process of the fund establishment, in particular in the area of proper legal framework. this fund has achieved tremendous success during these past three years, assisting the economic development and creation of new jobs in kosovo. within such a short time, the fund has managed to guarantee more than 2, 560 loans amounting to eur 100 million, with a guaranteed amount totalling to eur 47. 5 million. studies to date show that, among others, access to finance is one of the obstacles to private sector development. challenges faced by small and medium - sized enterprises for access to finance in one hand, and challenges faced by financial institutions during risk assessment of the financing of these enterprises on the other hand, are already known. so, by providing credit guarantees, the fund has assisted in overcoming these challenges by facilitating access to finance for small and medium - sized enterprises. therefore, financial institutions have channelled their liquidity into the type and value of proper funding for the needs of small and medium - sized enterprises. this additional funding mechanism has helped them to develop, create new jobs, and export, thus positioning kosovo at a competitive level in the regional and european markets. an essential prerequisite for the proper functioning of the fund is the interaction with a stable and efficient banking system. the continuous growth of competition in the banking system and the advancement of this sector have led to a decline in cost in bank financing conditions, and improvement thereof. the average effective interest rate on loans in march 2019 was 6. 7 %. this level of interest rates has now approximated the cost of bank financing in kosovo to other countries in the region. also, lending of the banking sector has increased significantly, raising its lending rate to ever eur 2. 8 billion, with an annual growth rate of 11. 4 % in march 2019. considering the high level of banking sector