ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has organised a roundtable discussion with the aim to provide a platform for the key financial sector stakeholders to discuss and share views about the efforts to achieve Pakistan’s vision for financial inclusion through coordination and implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, and discuss the potential role of the World Bank Group in supporting the achievement of Pakistan’s financial inclusion goals and targets.
Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, addressing the discussion, said that the ministry of finance, SBP, and SECP have provided strong leadership in developing a vision and roadmap to drive access and usage of financial services in Pakistan, which have been formulated into Pakistan’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS).
He said that the NFIS presented a strategic framework, a coordination structure and target indicators, developed through an elaborate consultative process with all stakeholders.
The minister lauded World Bank’s support for structural reforms of Pakistan’s financial sector since mid-1990s. More recently, he said the World Bank had been providing advisory and analytical services in the area of financial inclusion, which contributed towards the development of the NFIS.
World Bank Visiting Vice President Annette Dixon, Country Director Rachid Massaoud, State Bank Governor Ashraf Wathra and other participants also addressed at the round table conference.