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The President of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday met with Her Royal Highness Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to discuss her work as Special Advocate of the UN Secretary-General for Inclusive Finance for Development.
Queen Máxima is an active global voice on the importance of inclusive finance for achieving development and economic goals. Designated in 2009 by the UN Secretary-General as his Special Advocate, she encourages universal access for individuals and enterprises, at a reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services, provided by diverse responsible and sustainable institutions.
Financial inclusion seeks to unlock economic opportunities and improve the lives of all by expanding access to financial services. By providing everyone, especially the poor, with the affordable, effective, and responsible financial tools they need to protect themselves against hardship and invest in their futures, financial inclusion fosters equitable economic growth and furthers vital development goals such as poverty reduction, gender equality, and food security. This has been recognized in the 2030 global development agenda which highlights financial inclusion in Sustainable Development Goal 7.
As the Special Advocate, Queen Máxima works in partnership with stakeholders globally to raise awareness, encourage leadership, and foster action toward financial inclusion. She draws on her first-hand experiences gained through country visits and conversations with low-income families, small business owners, policymakers, and others to identify which financial services and policies can really make a difference for lives, livelihoods, and communities.