Queen Máxima to attend IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings
In her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA), Her Majesty Queen Máxima will attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington DC on the afternoon of Wednesday 23 April and on Thursday 24 April.
At the World Bank, the Queen will speak on both days with delegations from Bangladesh, Kenya, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and South Africa about her new UN mandate for financial health. During her term as UNSGSA for Inclusive Finance for Development (2009-2024), she worked with these countries on improving access to financial services. However, improved access does not guarantee better financial health. People also need products, services and policies that give them control over their daily income and expenditure, protect them against financial risks, help them achieve their long-term goals and instil confidence about their future financial position. Queen Máxima will focus attention on this during her conversations on these two days.
On Wednesday afternoon she will meet with Nels Nordquist, Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and G20 Sherpa for the United States. South Africa will hand over the presidency of the G20 to the United States on 1 December. In her capacity as Honorary Patron of the G20's Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), Queen Máxima usually speaks with the incoming presidency about how she can support the GPFI's agenda. In the GPFI’s vision, financial health and financial wellbeing are the desired outcomes of financial inclusion. On 26 September 2024 Queen Máxima attended the GPFI forum ‘Accelerating Progress at the Last Mile of Financial Inclusion for Financial Wellbeing’, held in Brazil.
In the evening the Queen will attend a working dinner focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, the kick-off to the Mastercard Global Inclusive Growth Summit. AI can be of use in better attuning products and services to people’s needs and promoting financial health. Key points of concern are cybersecurity and privacy safeguards.
On Thursday morning Queen Máxima will attend the Mastercard Global Inclusive Growth Summit, where representatives from the public and private sectors will discuss actions to promote economic growth for everyone. In a fireside chat, Queen Máxima will talk with Haley Sacks, also known as Mrs Dow Jones, about what employers and policymakers can do to promote financial health. As Mrs Dow Jones, Ms Sacks uses her online platform to explain financial matters in simple terms and offer advice aimed at helping people make financially responsible decisions. One theme of their talk will be the impact of financial stress on people's mental and physical health. Queen Máxima also promotes financial health in the Netherlands, both in her role as honorary chair of Stichting SchuldenlabNL and the Money Wise Platform, and as the initiator of the National Financial Health Coalition.
Government Information Service, no. 111