Sustainability Forum Middle East today announced Infracorp as “Lead Partner – Sustainable Infrastructure” for its upcoming inaugural edition focusing on “Business Transition to Net-Zero – the Path Towards a Successful Low-Carbon Future”. The partnership was launched at a signing ceremony at Infracorp’s headquarters at Bahrain Harbour between Infracorp CEO and Board Member, Mr. Majed Al Khan, and Ms. Zahraa Taher, Managing Director of FinMark Communications, the Forum’s founder and organiser.
Taking place in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 12 January 2023, the Forum is set to gather more than 300 regional public and private sector leaders and international sustainability experts to discuss the MENA region’s decarbonisation efforts and ways to drive and support climate action.
Infracorp, a sustainable infrastructure and development platform, was launched to help accelerate growth and investment into sustainable infrastructure assets and environments across the MENA region and globally with US$1.1 billion in equity and more than US$5 billion of assets under management. As a partner and participant in the Forum, which aims to help businesses better understand and embark upon their own net-zero journeys, Infracorp will share its vision for a more sustainable future and the greener ecosystems it is building across real estate and infrastructure. It will also share insights on sustainable financing. In March 2022, Infracorp successfully issued a US$900 million Sukuk listed on the London Stock Exchange, the first-ever green sukuk issued by a Bahraini entity.
Financing will be a key focus of the Forum with the significant capital required by businesses and governments to fund the transition among other important topics that will be covered through a series of keynote addresses, panel sessions and workshops. Experts will provide a roundup of outcomes from the recently concluded COP27 in Egypt and look ahead to the second consecutive COP to be held in the region with COP 28 set to take place in the UAE in 2023.
On the agenda will also be discussions around the urgency and path towards a low-carbon future, the net-zero ambitions of the MENA region and governments and where we are today, the integration of renewables, innovation in business models, and the evolution of climate regulation, among others.
Commenting, Majed Al Khan, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Infracorp, said, “With sustainability at the heart of our mission, Infracorp is playing an active role in supporting the Kingdom of Bahrain’s efforts to achieve net-zero by 2060 and that of other regional governments through our investments in the creation of sustainable ecosystems and in businesses and technologies that support climate change goals. We are very pleased to back this important Forum focusing on ways that companies across all sectors can and must contribute to decarbonisation and a greener more sustainable future. We look forward to sharing Infracorp’s own plans and experiences and engaging with our counterparts to encourage and accelerate action and change.”
Ms. Laila Danesh, Managing Director at FinMark Communications, added, “We’re delighted to welcome Infracorp as a Lead Partner. Their commitment to contributing to the region’s net-zero ambitions makes them an important addition to the programme. We look forward to their participation and the experience they have to share on the critical need to develop more sustainable environments as well as the green financing practices and tools available for funding them and the broader transition at large.”
Among the event’s other supporters are Strategic Partner – Bahrain Economic Development Board, Lead Partner – Standard Chartered, Energy Partner – nogaholding, Knowledge Partner – National Bank of Bahrain, ESG Partner – Gulf International Bank, and Forum Partner, Alba.