Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will be in New York from 22–25 September for the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). 2024 marks her fifteenth year as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). To mark this milestone, on Wednesday 25 September, a special event will be held at the UN in the presence of Heads of State, senior UN officials, leaders of international organizations, and the private sector.
The event can be livestreamed on Wednesday 25 September from 1:15–2:30 pm EST: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1q/k1qkn3fquq
On Monday 23 September, UNSGSA Queen Máxima will hold various bilateral meetings with representatives of governments and development organizations to discuss progress on financial inclusion and financial health. In the afternoon, she will open the event, “Resilient Futures: Bridging the Protection Gap to Achieve Global Financial Health”, hosted by news agency Devex and insurer AXA. Subsequently, she will be speaking at “50-in-5: Digital Public Infrastructure for People and Planet”, an event organized by various UN agencies and other partners. This initiative helps countries develop secure and trustworthy digital public infrastructure for financial inclusion, among other efforts.
On Tuesday 24 September, the UNSGSA will attend the opening of the 79th UNGA. The Special Advocate will also meet with members of the UNSGSA Reference Group. This group of 11 international organizations has been working on the theme of financial inclusion since 2009.
On Wednesday afternoon, 25 September, Queen Máxima will celebrate her fifteenth anniversary as the UNSGSA. The event, “Inclusive Finance for Development: 15 Years of Impact”, will look back on the achievements of the past 15 years as well as the work still to be done to reach the world's remaining 1.5 billion unbanked. Queen Máxima will deliver opening remarks, followed by contributions from government representatives and senior officials of development organizations, among others. A panel discussion on the importance of financial health will conclude the event. A publication on the foundational building blocks of financial inclusion for the last mile will also be launched.
Over the past 15 years, Queen Máxima and her partners have achieved tremendous progress, laying a solid foundation for financial inclusion. More than 76 percent of adults worldwide now have access to a secure and affordable financial account and other financial services, such as savings products, loans, and insurance. In 2011, this number was just 51 percent (Global Findex). In 2015, financial inclusion was identified as a key enabler of seven of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The gender gap in account ownership between men and women in developing countries has narrowed from nine to six percent, and over 60 countries have implemented a national financial inclusion strategy.
Now that access to financial services has been significantly expanded, it is time for the UNSGSA to take the next step to enhance the positive impact of financial inclusion. Queen Máxima advocates at the global level for the development of financial services, products, and policies that have financial health as the main goal. These services must be in line with what people need, so that they can protect themselves from financial risks and invest in a better future. This is addressed in her 2024 Annual Report, “15 Years of Financial Inclusion: Building a Foundation for Financial Health”, which Queen Máxima will present to UN Secretary-General António Guterres during the 79th UNGA.