Choosing the Kingdom as the venue for this year’s forum is a recognition by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) of the role and effective efforts the Kingdom plays to promote financial inclusion, according to the Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), Adel Sharkas, who spoke to Petra on Sunday.
He said that the forum provides an opportunity to highlight Jordan’s financial and banking sector’s excellence at the regional and global levels, as well as the Kingdom’s efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth and improve economic and financial stability through financial inclusion policies and strategies.
Sharkas noted that the GPF is the world’s most important annual financial inclusion event, bringing together government representatives and representatives from more than 100 international regulatory institutions and central banks from 90 AFI member countries.
Heads of international companies and organizations, financial and banking experts and technicians will also participate in the forum to discuss financial inclusion initiatives and policies and to share their experiences and knowledge.
He explained that the four-day forum will highlight Jordan’s progress in promoting financial inclusion, noting that the Kingdom has increased financial inclusion from 33.1 to 43.1 percent, as measured by account ownership, and reduced the gender gap from 53 to 22 percent.
According to the governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, the GPF is an opportunity to present Jordan as an investment magnet and to establish partnerships with various international institutions to develop financial and banking products for all segments of society.
The Central Bank will launch the 2023-2025 Financial Inclusion Strategy under the theme “Responsible and Sustainable Access to and Use of Financial Services and Products for Different Groups of Society” by the end of this year, Sharkas revealed.
The 2022 AFI GPF will explore the role that financial inclusion plays in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the underserved and vulnerable populations to ensure that recovery is fully inclusive, green, and sustainable.
The AFI is a leading global network of financial inclusion initiatives and policies, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its mission is to assist policymakers around the world in formulating inclusive and sustainable financial policies for greater inclusion and access to underserved groups.
Source: Jordan News Agency