The Government of the Republic of Maldives has signed an agreement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) granting the Fund privileges and immunities in line with those of other international organisations and those applied in the United Nations system.

GCF Executive Director Yannick Glemarec and the Maldives Environment Minister Hussain Rasheed Hassan signed the agreement during the ongoing GCF Global Programming Conference.

The privileges and immunities granted by Maldives are equivalent to those granted to other international organisations, such as multilateral development banks.

Mr Glemarec welcomed the signing, noting the conclusion of such agreements establish formal political relationships between GCF and the countries which sign them. They also serve as important legal foundations to ensure GCF activities in these countries are effective and efficient, he added.

In an earlier decision by the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), governments recommended that Parties to the UNFCCC enter bilateral agreements with GCF by providing privileges and immunities.