Staff Reporter :
The visiting Dutch Queen Maxima Zorreguieta Carruti on Wednesday emphasis on formulation of a ‘National Financial Inclusion Strategy’ to help Bangladesh’s society and economy grow stronger and more inclusive.
She also laid emphasis on forming the strategy with a mission and vision and its ‘coordinated implementation.’
The Dutch Queen, during her meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganobhaban on the day also assured all-out support of the Netherlands to accelerate Bangladesh’s development efforts to materialise its Vision 2021.
Queen Maxima arrived in Dhaka on Monday on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh in her capacity as the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. During the visit, the Queen met with President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Foreign Minister AH Mahmod Ali and other important government and private sector personalities.
“It’s extremely important to have coordination at the implementation stage. We’ve to work together to make people’s lives easier and better,” Maxima told reporters at a press conference at a city hotel before leaving Dhaka wrapping up her visit.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman and Robert Watkins were also present at the press conference.
BB Governor supplementing with the Dutch Queen said the central bank will be moving ahead in consultation with all stakeholders, including the Prime Minister’s Office, the Finance Ministry and Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to prepare the first draft on strategy by January next.
Referring to the Queen’s meeting with President, Prime Minister and others, Atiur said, “Everywhere there was serious to work with digital financial inclusion.”
He also said they will work together under a core committee headed by the Principal Secretary as the government wants to bring all people under formal financial services by 2021.
Mentioning that only around 30 percent people have access to formal financial services, Máxima said Bangladesh in the next phase will take appropriate measures to bring all the unbanked people under financial services like insurance, credit and savings.
Giving some specific recommendations for Bangladesh, the Queen, said registration of SIMs, strong regulation and having national ID cards by biometric will make things easier and safer in terms of providing financial services.
Responding to a question on graft issue, Máxima said governance itself is an important issue in the public and private sector. “Through financial inclusion, you’ll have more transparent system. I would say financial inclusion makes corruption more difficult.”
Asked how the remittance sending cost can be reduced, she said the digital financial inclusion will play role in reducing the cost of all types of financial services.
The Queen also said mobile is one of the most promising tool to promote financial inclusion in Bangladesh.
Appreciating Bangladesh’s progress in terms of financial inclusion, Queen Máxima said the efforts need to be continued as lack of financial access indicates that there is no secure way for families to save money for school fees, health emergencies and other things. “Financial inclusion is not only pro-growth but also pro-poor one.”
Meanwhile, the central bank governor said the cost of sending remittance is significantly coming down due to steps taken by the government.
He also mentioned that the cost is higher at the sending end but it is less costly at the receiving end.
Atiur also said the transaction fee through bKash will also automatically come down once the National Strategy is formulated and implemented.
