07 March 2023: The United Arab Emirates participated in the second Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) meeting under the Finance Track of the G20 for 2023. The meeting was held under India G20 Presidency on March 6 and 7 in Hyderabad, India. The meeting sought to discuss the progress made on the GPFI workplan, and the priority areas outlined for the group for 2023. Members also discussed the development of the Financial Inclusion Action Plan 2023, which will guide the group’s work for the next three years.

The UAE delegation included Mariam AlHajri, Deputy Director of the General Budget Department at the Ministry of Finance, and Faiza Al-Awadi, Head of Financial Consumer Protection at the Consumer Protection Department at the Central Bank of the UAE. G20 members, invited countries, GPFI country members, and international organisations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also participated in the meeting.

On the first day of the meeting, the UAE delegation attended the symposium on Digital Innovations in Payments and Remittances, during which, the members discussed the latest developments in innovative digital payment systems and how digital innovations in payment systems advance financial inclusion and productivity gains.

During the GPFI meetings, the UAE team supported the GPFI’s direction to focus to explore the role of digital public infrastructure in advancing financial inclusion. The team also reiterated the need to address the barriers to deploying digital public infrastructure to promote financial inclusion. On discussions relating to the 2023 Financial Inclusion Action Plan, the UAE team stressed the importance of enabling both access and usability of high-quality financial products and services as key pillars to be targeted by the upcoming plan.

The GPFI members also discussed recommendations to promote the role of Digital Public Infrastructure in advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains, ways to enhance Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises access to finance, data harmonization and showcased best practices in digital remittances to reduce the cost of remittances.

Finally, members agreed to share the progress on the GPFI deliverables during the next Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in April.