Dhaka: Visiting Dutch Queen Maxima has emphasised the importance of a clear, time-bound action plan for an effective financial inclusion strategy in Bangladesh.

‘The financial inclusion is not an end itself but it's an effective means to an end,’ she said while addressing a seminar on National Financial Inclusion Strategy held at the central bank headquarters on Tuesday.

The Queen highly appreciated the progress that Bangladesh has already achieved in the financial inclusion, said a Bangladesh Bank press release.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Raham chaired the seminar where Queen Maxima, also UNSG's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, was present as the chief guest.

The Queen also said the public and private organisations need to work together. ‘We need to think about the future and the future should be the customers.’

She also emphasised that the financial inclusion should be anchored to a customer centric philosophy and stressed having 100 percent financial inclusion in Bangladesh by 2021.

She was accompanied by Ambassador Cuelenaere, representatives from the World Bank, CGAP and Bill Gates Foundation.

In her deliberations, the Queen emphasised putting more coordinated efforts towards enhancing usage while giving emphasis on agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and women entrepreneurs.

‘In Bangladesh, echoing our national aspirations, we've worked towards making our financial access universal. We also want it to be digital to further democratize the inclusion,’ BB Governor Dr Rahman said while addressing the seminar.

The BB Governor also said the country's financial system has grown and matured over the years, which enabled financing of a wider economic base.

‘In recent years, we've actively leveraged the financial system for innovating and deepening empowerment initiatives, for example, in agriculture, MSME, women entrepreneurship, green financing, improving the quality of our growth. These initiatives also boosted domestic demand, helping us navigate the external shocks, especially in the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis,’ he explained.

The government has taken an active, participatory, and learning-by-doing approach toward financial inclusion, Dr Rahman said, adding that this approach has been a bottom-up one, with a focus on maximising impact, including the excluded and empowering the vulnerable.

‘The experience and lessons gathered thus far make it an opportune moment for us to review, discuss, and forge a national financial inclusion strategy. The strategy can help us better leverage the synergies across initiatives, agencies, and programs through consultation, collaboration and innovation,’ he noted.

Both Governor Dr Rahman and Queen Maxima concurred that the financial inclusion strategy needs to be formulated through consultation, collaboration and innovation.

The strategy can help us leverage the synergies across initiatives, agencies, and programs, they added.

The central bank of Bangladesh in association with the Prime Minister Office (PMO) and UNDP Bangladesh organized the seminar.