Queen Máxima met with several Moroccan Government officials and private sector leaders.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands concluded her three-day working visit to Morocco on Thursday, focused on promoting financial inclusion in the country.

The Queen, who also serves as Special Advocate to the United Nations Secretary-General for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), held several meetings with government and private sector officials on the digitalization of payments, the development of the financial technologies and inclusive green finance.

On Wednesday, UNSGSA met with the head of the Moroccan government, Aziz Akhannouch. They discussed the role of digital payments in “bringing people into the formal financial sector, as well as helping to support social assistance programs,” said a press release from the United Nations Information Center in Rabat (UNIC).

Queen Máxima stressed the importance of prioritizing the development of the FinTech sector in Morocco “through effective regulation, policies and investments in the market.”

The meeting also focused on the development of financial regulations and policies to support inclusive green financing in the country in the face of climate change and successive droughts.

"With increasing climate risks and drought exposure, UNSGSA suggested that Morocco could include inclusive green finance as a core pillar of its national financial inclusion strategy," the statement added.

The Queen also met with Moroccan Princess Lalla Meryem, the Secretary General of the Government, Mohamed El Hajoui, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Ryad Mezzour, and the governor of Bank Al- Maghrib, Abdellatif Jouahri, among others.

Additionally, he participated in two field visits during which he met with FinTech entrepreneurs and clients to learn about their experiences in using different financial services and products.

UNSGSA also visited the founders of Moroccan start-up Chari in Casablanca to learn how the company's online platform and mobile application are contributing to the digital transformation and financial inclusion of mom-and-pop businesses.

The second field visit took place in Rabat, where Queen Máxima learned how the Arrawaj Foundation aims to "reach financial microentrepreneurs and companies typically excluded from the formal financial system," the statement concludes.

Source: MoroccoWorldNews