Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA), will be in Washington D.C. from the evening of Wednesday April 15 to Saturday, April 18 for the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
During the week, the UNSGSA will raise financial health as an urgent priority in conversations with heads of government, development leaders, and private sector partners. Now more than ever, financial systems should reinforce financial health, supporting individuals and households to build resilience and increase stability and long-term growth. This, in turn, will drive growth, financial stability, and improved development outcomes.
At the core of Queen Máxima’s program are three ‘fireside chats.’ On Thursday, the UNSGSA will speak at a panel on insurance, resilience, and development, organized by the Insurance Development Forum, CGAP, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the World Bank Group. Well-designed insurance is a vital financial health tool. Participants will discuss the importance of insurance products that help households manage risk and overcome shocks. Also on Thursday, Her Majesty will share opportunities to drive financial health forward in Latin America and the Caribbean in a fireside chat at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
On Friday, the UNSGSA will participate in a fireside chat on global financial literacy, hosted by the United States as part of its G20 presidency. Participants include United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga, the Minister of Finance of Japan Satsuki Katayama, and Minister of Finance of Mexico Edgar Amador Zamora. Queen Máxima will emphasize that well-designed financial literacy initiatives, including customer-centric products that move consumers from knowledge to action, are an important foundation for advancing consumer financial health.
During the Spring Meetings, the UNSGSA will meet bilaterally with several key partners and leaders to discuss financial health initiatives. Her engagements include meetings with leaders from global and regional multilateral organizations, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, the Director-General, International Finance of the UK Treasury, as well as Ministers of Finance of Ghana and Indonesia. She will meet with, among others, Central Bank Governors of Ghana, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Philippines and the UK.
Contact:
UNSGSA: Meghan Boroughs – meghan.boroughs@unsgsa.org
Royal House: Marianne Wiltjer – m.wiltjer@minaz.nl