Malacañan Palace
30 June 2015
President Benigno S. Aquino III received Queen Maxima of the Netherlands who is in the country from 29 June to 1 July as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).
The visit of Queen Maxima is a response to the invitation of the Philippine government and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in consideration of Her Majesty’s leading role as the global champion and spokesperson for the “essential role of financial services in alleviating poverty, fostering equitable economic growth, and furthering diverse development goals including environmental sustainability, food security, clean water, good health and universal education.”
During her stay in the country, Queen Maxima will deliver a speech at the launching of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion. This is a government action plan organized by the BSP that aims to boost cooperation between ministries, government agencies and the private sector in order to improve access to financial services by the less fortunate sector of society.
She will also meet with some government officials and department heads including BSP Governor Amando Tetangco, Jr., Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Cesar V. Purisma, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon.
Her Majesty was designated as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development in September 2009. She works worldwide to make financial services accessible to all, which includes low-income groups and small and medium enterprises (SME) sector.
Joining Her Majesty during the call are H.E. Maria Cristina Theresia Derckx (Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Philippines), Mr. Ola Almgren (UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative), Mr. Peer Stein (Director, Finance and Markets Global Practice of the World Bank Group), and Mr. Paolo Galli (Director, Office of the UNSGA).
Joining the President on the Philippine side are Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General and Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco, Jr., DFA Undersecretary Laura del Rosario, DOF Undersecretary Jeremias Paul, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. and BSP Director of Inclusive Finance Advocacy Pia Roman-Tayag.
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