Palestine's National Committee for Financial Inclusion Holds Its Third Meeting
Ramallah – December 15, 2019
The National Committee for Financial Inclusion in Palestine held its third meeting, at the headquarters of Palestine Monetary Authority in Ramallah, jointly chaired by the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority Mr. Azzam Shawwa and the Chairman of Palestine Capital Market Authority, His Excellency Dr. Nabil Kassis.
The meeting opened with a welcome speech from the Chair of the Committee, which stressed the importance of the strategy in contributing to sustainable economic growth and improving the living conditions of different groups of society, especially the poor, marginalized and financially excluded. The meeting discussed the latest developments in the implementation of the Financial Inclusion Strategy Action Plan in Palestine. The annual progress report for the strategy was discussed and adopted. The report outlines the progress of the implementation of the requirements of the strategy action plan for the first year, including special activities and programs of the banking and non-banking financial sectors, implemented by Palestine Monetary Authority and Palestine Capital Market Authority during the previous period, which aimed to enhance financial coverage in Palestine and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the strategy. The progress report also touched on the outputs of specialized working groups, which were formed from specialized members from several institutions and companies to include the public and private sectors and civil society institutions to contribute mainly to the implementation of the requirements of the strategic action plan and its activities.
The meeting also strengthened the procedures for launching the financial inclusion website, which is expected to be launched early next year to be considered as an essential reference for financial inclusion in Palestine and contribute to enhancing financial awareness among the target groups of society. The project to establish a database of financial inclusion in Palestine at the national level was also discussed in cooperation with the participating parties related to the strategy in order to measure the level of development in the indicators of financial inclusion and the success of the efforts made in this aspect of all parties.
It is worth mentioning that Palestine is one of the first Arab countries to establish a national strategy for financial inclusion, in accordance with the best international standards and practices. Financial inclusion directly contributes to the financial stability and economic growth of states by integrating all segments of society into the formal financial system, protecting their financial rights, and providing financing to micro, small and medium enterprises.
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