KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — Malaysia welcomes Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) member countries to be part of the country’s journey in leveraging Islamic capital market synergies for a climate resilient economy.
Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah said a case in point is the issuance of the world’s first sovereign US dollar Sustainability Sukuk by the Malaysian government in April 2021 to the value of US$800 million (RM3.7 billion), which was oversubscribed by 6.4 times across the world.
“Malaysia recognises the importance of a just transition towards sustainability,” he said during the Board of Governors Business Session at the 55th ADB Annual Meeting today.
Additionally, he said Malaysia welcomes ADB facilitation efforts toward climate resilient economy with cumulative climate financing amounting to US$100 billion for the period of 2019-2030 for its developing member countries.
Meanwhile, Mohd Shahar said the Covid-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the livelihood and the lives of people.
He said Malaysia believes ADB could play important role in strengthening public healthcare post-pandemic to ensure healthcare and fiscal resilience, which is also an important factor in supporting growth.
In this perspective, he said Malaysia called for deeper regional cooperation and integration between ADB and member countries for successful development strategies implementation.
He said another global concern is the increasing percentage of ageing population and increased life expectancy which put further pressure on the declining population growth in several member countries, including Malaysia.
“This phenomenon, coupled with low fertility rate, will cause labour market facing shortages of needed supply and may indirectly impair climate resilient economic growth.
“As such, ADB’s assistance is sought for the development of an inclusive and forward-looking policy framework in raising the fertility level in the affected member countries’ population,” he said.
He said Malaysia also expressed the importance for ADB member countries in promoting both biodiversity and green economy for a sustainable and inclusive recovery.
He added that the country looks forward to continued technical assistance and capacity building by ADB, especially to non-borrowing member countries like Malaysia, that would support in identifying green assets as well as the development of a coherent approach in managing climate and environment-related risks. — Bernama
