H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will visit Washington, D.C., and New York to promote financial inclusion in a series of meetings with U.S. and United Nations officials, along with other key stakeholders, on 23-24 March 2022. Queen Máxima will conduct discussions in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).
Throughout the duration of the visit, UNSGSA Queen Máxima is expected to focus on how inclusive finance can support COVID-19 recovery efforts and help people build resilience to future shocks from economic and climate events. This includes priority areas such as financial health, inclusive fintech, green finance, and sustainable finance.
The issue of financial health—notably approaches to measuring financial health and its relevance to other policy objectives—will be at the top of the agenda during an anticipated meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday.
UNSGSA Queen Máxima has placed special emphasis on elevating financial health as a critical component to the work of policymakers and regulators in both developed and developing countries. This includes the UNSGSA’s Financial Health Working Group, which released a pair of policy notes to help policymakers understand and measure financial health, especially in the context of financial inclusion.
Also, on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., UNSGSA Queen Máxima is scheduled to hold meetings with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, U.S. Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, World Bank Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships Mari Pangestu, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) CEO Sophie Sirtaine, and Center for Financial Inclusion Managing Director Mayada El-Zoghbi.
UNSGSA Queen Máxima will then travel to New York to meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday to discuss how her advocacy continues to help advance UN priorities.
The Special Advocate will also meet with UNDP Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy Ulrika Modeer, as well as other UN officials and the co-chairs of the UN Group of Friends on Financial Inclusion (Indonesia, Peru and Tanzania).
Additionally, UNSGSA Queen Máxima will meet with members of the private sector to promote financial health. Discussions will be in the form of a roundtable hosted by the Financial Health Network (FHN), which is a member of the UNSGSA’s Financial Health Working Group.