The Arab Monetary Fund, Alliance for Financial Inclusion, World Bank Group and GIZ support Arab countries in financial inclusion policymaking for increased usage of adequate financial services by all segments of the population to enhance sustainable development.
Translation of the original AMF announcement from July 3, 2018, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The headquarters of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) will host today the Second Meeting of the Partner Institutions in the “Financial Inclusion for the Arab Region Initiative” (FIARI). The initiative was launched by the Arab Monetary Fund in September 2017 in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GmbH) GIZ, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, and the World Bank Group, under the umbrella of the Board of Governors of Central Banks and Arab Monetary Institutions. It aims at supporting the efforts of the Arab countries in improving access to finance for all economic sectors and segments of the population in the Arab countries, thus contributing to the promotion of comprehensive economic and social development opportunities.
The initiative is based on a number of activities, including: Providing technical advice to the Arab authorities regarding the adoption of national strategies for financial inclusion; developing a digital financial services system; and improving the formal financial access of women, youth, low-income people, and small and medium-sized enterprises in Arab countries, through the exchange of experience and under consideration of financial technologies.
The meeting will discuss progress in the implementation of the Initiative’s program activities, as well as the development of an action plan for the Initiative for the period 2019-2020.
On this occasion, Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Hamidi, Director General of the Arab Monetary Fund, expressed his appreciation for the existing cooperation in this initiative with the partner institutions. He stated that such cooperation will have positive impact on indicators of financial inclusion and will support the efforts of the Arab countries to achieve the goals of sustainable development by encouraging youth, entrepreneurs, and small and medium enterprises, and supporting opportunities for innovation and creativity to create jobs. Dr. Al-Hamidi also pointed out that the Fund and its partner institutions have welcomed the participation of other regional and international institutions to help coordinate and consolidate efforts in order to achieve the desired goals.
