The High-level conference on financial inclusion and employment in the Arab countries will be launched tomorrow, Tuesday November 10 at the Movenpick Hotel Dead Sea, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in the presence of H.E Dr. Ziad Fariz, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, H.E Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al-Hamidi, Director General Chairman of the Arab Monetary Fund, and Ms. Ute Klamert, Head of Europe, Mediterranean and Central Asia Department at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The conference is jointly organized by the Arab Monetary Fund, the Central Bank of Jordan and the GIZ, in partnership with the European Union, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP).
This one-day event will be attended by a large number of experts and managers in charge of financial inclusion at the Ministries of Finance and Central Banks in the region, in addition to representatives of various international and regional financial institutions with interest on financial inclusion. The conference will discuss a number of topics and themes related to the importance of financial inclusion for the region in job creation through the identification of the role of national strategies in financial inclusion, the policies and requirements to support access to finance for small and medium enterprises, as well to the need for the development of innovative financial services. The agenda of the conference is composed of specific panels dedicated to tackle issues related to the new financing instruments and channels, non-financial services for SMEs, digital finance for SMEs alternative risk management, gender finance; secured lending, credit registries, and credit guarantee schemes.
On the sidelines of the conference, a training workshop will be organized on Wednesday November 11, to reinforce the capacity building of the participants from Arab central banks in the development and implementation of national strategies for financial inclusion, and the identification of the necessary steps to do so.
In addition of being a great occasion for the official launch by CBJ of the process of implementing the financial inclusion strategy for Jordan, the conference will include the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Arab Monetary Fund(AMF) and the (GIZ), which will allow the two institutions to strengthen their cooperation and develop joint activities and programs towards providing technical advice and support capacity building in all areas of financial sector development with particular focus on financial inclusion aspects.
In this context, HE Dr. Ziad Fariz, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, started by thanking all the institutions for their efforts in organizing this conference, and pointed out that financial inclusion has become a fundamental pillar and a pressing need in view of its role in improving the standard of living and the empowerment of women and the promotion of equal opportunities, as well as in poverty reduction and securing the well-being and thus achieving sustainable economic growth. He called on governments and regulatory authorities to support the adoption of financial inclusion as a strategic objective and a comprehensive national vision that everyone works in its framework, with a balance between financial inclusion and financial stability and financial integrity and the protection of consumers of financial services. HE the Governor reconfirms its appreciation to the Arab Monetary Fund's efforts in the launch of several initiatives with the objective to enhance financial inclusion and welcomes the creation of the regional task force for financial inclusion in the Arab countries.
For his part, HE Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al-Hamidi Director General Chairman of the Arab Monetary Fund, stressed that the conference represents an excellent opportunity to shed light on this important topic to understand the dimensions of improving financial inclusion to address the challenges of unemployment in the Arab countries, noting that the topic represents a key priority for the Fund as part of its strategy for the coming years. He also praised on this occasion the efforts of the Central Bank of Jordan in the preparation and launching of the national strategy to promote financial inclusion in the Kingdom.
Moreover, Ms. Klamert, Head of Europe, Mediterranean and Central Asia Department at the (GIZ), referred to the initiative of the G7 members and Arab partners countries to launch in Berlin in April of this year, a dialogue about responsible financial inclusion in the MENA region, and stressed that the conference in Dead Sea will help to deepen policy dialogue on Financial Inclusion among the representatives of the central banks and ministries of finance, and the international institutions and the private sector from the Arab region. She also highlighted the long-term successful relationship of GIZ with its partners, which contributed to the financial sector capacity development at all levels and the implementation of changes at national levels.
© Press Release 2015
