What unites the Arab World’s top government leaders? Ask participants at a recent forum hosting the region’s best and brightest public servants, and you will hear a consistent theme: Arab countries need to make their societies more inclusive to more of their citizens. And financial systems are no exception.
That’s why more than 70 policy makers—representing central banks, ministries of finance, and financial regulatory, supervisory, and standard-setting bodies (SSBs) from the Arab World—came together at the 5th Arab Policy Forum on Financial Inclusion. The forum, held on December 10-11, 2013 in Abu Dhabi, was jointly organized by the Arab Monetary Fund, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and the World Bank.
The aim of the forum was to work toward a common vision for achieving more inclusive—and more equitable—financial systems in the region. Using the I-SIP framework developed by CGAP and others for the Global Partnership for financial inclusion (GPFI), participants explored linkages between Financial Inclusion on the one hand and financial stability, integrity, and consumer Protection on the other.
This paper highlights key learning from the Arab Policy Forum through the prism of the I-SIP framework as well as provides additional resources to dig deeper into the key issues.