The second Meeting of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) under G20 India Presidency concluded today in Hyderabad. The meeting held from March 6-7, 2023 was led by GPFI Co-Chair and G20 India Presidency and saw participation from Ministry of Finance and Central Bank representatives from G20 and non-G20 countries and International Organisations including GPFI Implementing Partners and Affiliated Partners.
The meeting also witnessed announcement of the selection of the new long-term Co-Chairs of the GPFI. India and Italy were announced as the new GPFI Co-Chairs with support from the whole membership. The new Co-Chairs have been selected for a duration of three years and their tenure will commence from 2024.
During the Plenary, the GPFI members discussed and agreed on the way forward for important deliverables for the year including those on Digital Financial Inclusion, SME Finance. A dedicated workshop was also organised for the development of GPFI Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) 2023 which will guide the financial inclusion work under G20 for 2024-26.
A Symposium on Digital Innovations in Payments and Remittances was also organised on March 6, 2023 on the side lines of the GPFI meeting for both G20 and non-G20 countries. The Symposium hosted a Panel Discussion on Harnessing Digital Innovations in Payments Systems for Financial Inclusion, Resilience, Productivity Gains, and Inclusive Growth moderated by Dr. Ruth Goodwin- Groen, MD, Better Than Cash Alliance (Better than Cash Alliance) and active discussions between Mr. Pedro de Vasconcelos (Sr. Technical Specialist and Financing Facility for Remittances Manager, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)); Ms. Harsha Rodrigues (Executive Vice President & Head of Regional Client Services, Women's World Banking); Mr. Sudhanshu Prasad (General Manager, Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, RBI) and Dr. Ralph Oyini Mbouna (Director of Digital Transformation and Services, Smart Africa). The Symposium led to a fruitful exchange of experiences and understanding on the development of a robust payment system for advancing financial inclusion, resilience, productivity gains and inclusive growth.
The GPFI Meeting was preceded by a Knowledge and Experience Exchange Programme for the Emerging Economies of the Global South held from March 4-6, 2023. This engagement with the global south is in line with the overall theme of G20 India Presidency i.e. One Earth, One Family, One Future. The Exchange Programme was addressed by Shri. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Chief Coordinator, G20 India; Shri. Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance; Shri. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Department of Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Department of Information Technology (IT), Government of Telangana along with other experts from India and international participants.
To enhance the understanding of the participants on the role of digital financial ecosystem based on DPI to accelerate financial inclusion progress, experts from India, including from the Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India, National Payments Corporation of India, Unique Identification Authority of India shared the Indian experience in transforming the financial inclusion landscape by leveraging DPIs.
Ministry of Finance and Central Bank representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Malawi, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam as well as from Regional Organizations, namely, the Asian Development Bank, the African Union Commission, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Arab Monetary Fund, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Gates Foundation, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and Smart Africa actively participated in the deliberations.
Key learnings emerged from the Exchange Programme on the priorities and ideas of EMEs for advancing financial inclusion. G20 India Presidency is committed to advancing financial inclusion globally and to bring to fore the voice of emerging economies to the G20 discourse. The successful initiatives, challenges and developmental needs of the EMEs will be useful takeaways for the G20 as it works towards developing a Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) for 2024-26 as well as other key areas of work during the year.
