His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania received on Tuesday Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who is visiting Jordan as the UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).

His Majesty praised Queen Maxima's continuous efforts to achieve comprehensive development in the world.

The meeting discussed plans and programs implemented by Jordan to increase economic growth rates and providing job opportunities, as well as measures aimed at facilitating access to finance youth, women, entrepreneurs and small and medium business enterprises.

The meeting also touched on the international economic conference hosted by the UK government in cooperation with the Jordanian government in London at the end of this month.

The pressures exerted by the Syrian refugee crisis on the Jordanian economy were reviewed. His Majesty appreciated the support of the Netherlands and the United Nations to enable the Kingdom to deal with the burdens of this asylum.

The meeting was attended by the Advisor to His Majesty the King, the Director of His Majesty's Office, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, and the Dutch Ambassador in Amman.

Queen Maxima is visiting Jordan for the first time as an UNSGSA, meeting with officials and representatives of the private sector to discuss cooperation in the field of e-finance services and ways to support the implementation of the national strategy for financial coverage.

During her visit on Sunday, Queen Maxima met with a number of leading women in the Kingdom and learned of their experiences in obtaining funding for their projects.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz met in his Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday with Her Majesty Queen Maxima. During the meeting, which was attended by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Mari Kawar and the Dutch Ambassador to Amman, the Prime Minister discussed the national strategy applied by Jordan in the field of financial inclusion for the years 2018-2020, and the role of the Central Bank in establishing and enabling citizens to access financial services easily.

The Prime Minister reviewed the measures taken by the government and the Central Bank of Jordan to enhance the process of financial inclusion, the digitization of the financial system. The Prime Minister referred to the plans and programs implemented by Jordan to increase the rates of economic growth, debt treatment and job creation, as well as measures aimed at facilitating access to finance small and medium enterprises.

Her Majesty Queen Maxima stressed the importance of the meetings with Jordanian officials and representatives of the private sector in achieving comprehensive development by providing financial services to all the population including the poor and opening economic opportunities for all. She confirmed her team's readiness to assist the government, provide expertise and technical support in the field of e-finance services, and ways to support the national strategy for financial coverage.

During a joint press conference with Jordan's Central Bank Governor Dr. Ziad Fariz and Planning and International Cooperation Minister Dr. Marie Kawar, Queen Maxima said that the purpose of the visit to the Kingdom is to look at Jordan's experience of financial inclusion to identify efforts in reducing the number of those who are financially excluded.

To conclude her visit to #Jordan in her capacity as @UNSGSA for financial inclusion, H.M. #QueenMáxima held a press conference together with the Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, H.E. Dr. Zaid Farez, and Minister of Planning H.E. Minister @mary_kawar. pic.twitter.com/GBwgKC69bC

— NL in Jordan (@NLinJordan) February 12, 2019

"What I'm trying to do is to travel to different countries to try to improve their financial coverage," she said.

Queen Maxima explained that between 2011 and 2018, some 1.3 billion people worldwide have been integrated into financial services, including electronic payment and receiving of payment, to be able to save, improve economic and social opportunities, empower women and the elderly, and promote children's education. She pointed out that only 24%, have been included "which means that about 76% still need access to financial services."

Her Majesty Queen Maxima said the visit is important for Jordan, which has a well-developed microfinance environment. Jordan has developed a financial inclusion strategy that began in 2017, which includes payment through mobile as well as financial literacy.

HM said she supports these efforts, stressing the importance of cooperation between the various parties to accelerate the financial coverage and engagement of citizens in financial services via mobile phone.

“Thirty-three per cent of Jordanians have access to financial services, which is low, but there is an effort to further increase this percentage,” she pointed out, adding that “there is still a lot to do, in light of the fact that 67 per cent of Jordanians are financially excluded”.