Abu Dhabi and Kenya will work together to support sustainable finance in each other’s markets as investment in green projects gains ground. The agreement will allow Abu Dhabi Global Market and Kenya's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) "to exchange information pertinent to products, services and initiatives as well as to develop, legislative, regulatory and institutional frameworks to enable the two sides to facilitate and support sustainable finance”, the two entities said in a statement. UAE and a number of other countries in the region have been actively promoting sustainable finance with an emphasis on green energy projects following the Paris climate accord in 2015 that calls for countries to transition to a lower carbon economy and promote environmental-friendly projects to reduce the impact on the climate. Masdar, UAE’s clean energy firm that has invested more than $8.5 billion (Dh31.21bn) in global projects, has also taken up several initiatives including rolling out its green revolving funding facility in October last year. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the top UAE lender by assets, has also set aside $10bn for financing green businesses over the course of 10 years. “ADGM’s partnership and relationship with CMA began in 2017 on FinTech (financial technology) where we shared mutual objectives of fostering innovation, financial inclusion and regulator cooperation,” Richard Teng, chief executive of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) at ADGM, said. “We are pleased to continue this cooperation with CMA to promote sustainable capital formation and deployment of financing as part of the commitment to our countries’ green economy strategies and agenda.” ADGM, which is among the fastest growing regional financial hubs, also rolled out its sustainable finance agenda earlier this year with 25 key public and private entities and institutions signing the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Declaration to jointly advocate for sustainable finance and investments for the long-term growth of the country’s economy. “This strategic partnership between CMA (Kenya) and FSRA underscores the importance of sustainable finance and the intangible value drivers within environmental, social and governance perspectives,” said Paul Muthaura chief executive of CMA. “This initiative has come at an opportune time as sustainable finance is expected to play an important but niche role in driving the growth of Kenya’s capital markets.”