The UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, has arrived in Myanmar at the invitation of the government for a three-day visit aimed at expanding financial inclusion. During her time in Myanmar she will discuss financial inclusion with a wide range of figures—from high-level government leaders to low-income families and small business owners—and will attend the launch the country’s recently adopted Financial Inclusion Roadmap.
Arriving in Yangon on 30 March, the Special Advocate will hold talks with representatives of banks, microfinance institutions, and telecommunications companies. The following day, 31 March, she will deliver a speech at the University of Yangon on the importance of financial inclusion. Traveling to a village outside of the city, she will also visit local entrepreneurs who have been able to expand their businesses and stabilize their lives with the help of small loans.
Heading to Myanmar’s capital city, Nay Pyi Taw, on April 1 Queen Máxima will attend the launch the country’s recently adopted Financial Inclusion Roadmap, which sets out how the finance and economics ministries, the central bank, and financial regulators plan to provide access to affordable, effective, and responsible financial services. She will also meet with representatives of Myanmar’s government, central bank, and parliament, among others, to discuss the importance of financial inclusion for unlocking economic opportunity for all, especially the poor.