AMF may intensify financial inclusion

Director general chairman of the board of Arab Monetary Fund Dr Abdulrahman A. Al Hamidy along with other officials at the event on Thursday. - Supplied photo

The Council of Arab Central Banks Governors on Thursday stressed on enhancing financial inclusion to achieve sustainable development in the region. Marking the Arab Financial Inclusion Day, director general chairman of the board of Arab Monetary Fund Dr Abdulrahman A. Al Hamidy noted the decision of adopting an Arab day of financial inclusion and its role as a driving factor to support the development of policies, strategies and programmes aiming at promoting access to financial services, including ways to improve indicators of financial inclusion in the Arab region.
He said the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), was willing to continue and intensify its efforts in providing technical assistance and building capacity development to support member countries in their efforts to create an adequate enabling environment to achieve full financial inclusion in the Arab region.
The Council of Arab Central Banks Governors reaffirmed its commitment to continue working to provide a right environment for achieving the universality of financial sector in the Arab countries and ensure access to a full range of quality, cost-effective and appropriate financial services to unbanked and under-served populations and businesses, particularly for youth and women.
Considering the transformative impact of financial inclusion and its critical importance in fostering sustainable growth, creating employment opportunities, reducing inequality and maintaining financial stability, Bank Al Maghrib governor and the Council of Arab Central Banks Governors chairman Abdellatif Jouahri said it was important to raise the level of awareness towards the need for joining forces to expand financial inclusion.
He said there was need for more effective cooperation among all stakeholders and deepen the partnership between the public and the private sectors through a comprehensive framework to implement evidence-based financial inclusion policies and programmes leading to achieving the universality objective of access to financial services in the Arab countries.
Also, the council noted the benefit of knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning among regional and international financial regulators and policymakers for the design and implementation of regionally relevant financial inclusion policies.
Separately, the Arab Monetary Fund and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development launched a report on financial education initiatives in the Arab region.
The report is based on relevant information collected through research and interviews with stakeholders. The report recapitulates the general status of financial education in several selected countries in the Arab region.
Abdulrahman Al Hamidy said that inclusive financial sector is a catalyst for sustainable development in the Arab world and is essential to reduce the vulnerability of low-income households, and to encourage the growth of small and medium-sized companies, which further contributes to reducing unemployment, which is considered to be one of the challenges facing Arab countries.
He stressed that providing financial services alone doesn't assure inclusion. Financial education is critical, because learning the basics of financial management and how to use financial assets is critical part of helping people improve their lives. And this was the main reason why Arab Monetary Fund has been emphasising the importance of financial education and the need for public authorities to adopt national strategies on financial inclusion and education, Al Hamidy added. - ashwani@khaleejtimes.com