By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
United Nations
Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA), Queen
Máxima of the Netherlands, has met with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga
in The Hague to discuss their longstanding partnership and continued
cooperation on financial health.
The meeting highlighted the
World Bank’s role in supporting Queen Máxima’s work within the United Nations,
which has evolved over more than two decades from promoting financial inclusion
to advancing financial health.
According to the UNSGSA, the
partnership initially focused on improving access to appropriate, safe and
affordable financial products and services, an agenda centred on financial
inclusion.
Since the beginning of Queen
Máxima’s new UN mandate, however, the focus has shifted towards financial
health.
The World Bank is a member
of the UNSGSA Reference Group, an advisory body comprising eleven international
development organisations that meets with Queen Máxima several times a year to
discuss progress in her UN work.
As part of the Reference
Group, the World Bank also regularly participates in her delegations during UN
country visits, including her recent visits to Ghana, India and Indonesia.
Its involvement extends
beyond participation in the visits to include providing advice ahead of
engagements, coordinating activities during the visits and supporting follow-up
actions afterwards.
The continued collaboration
reflects the World Bank’s longstanding role in supporting Queen Máxima’s
efforts to advance financial inclusion and improve financial health globally.
