A small ceremony was held today by AFI at its Sasana Kijang Complex headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The event was held to recognize and appreciate the successful efforts of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in facilitating the logistics, and administrative procedures that allowed AFI to officially become an independent international organization.

Invited attendees included representatives from the Ministry of Finance, German Embassy, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme and the South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre.

During the ceremony, AFI’s Executive Director, Alfred Hannig, delivered a brief overview of the AFI story highlighting BNM’s key role in supporting the long-term vision of the network at each step of the organization’s journey. “Our thanks to BNM, and all the people that helped make this happen. We can celebrate our success but our journey is just beginning. Financial inclusion is not going away.”

BNM’s Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz was presented with a special award for her role as an AFI champion, along with the positive impact on financial inclusion that BNM has had under her leadership. “Malaysia has been honored to be part of the AFI journey to becoming an independent international organization. AFI’s greatest achievement has been getting financial inclusion on the global agenda of every international organization.”

The event concluded with a ceremonial handover of the Host Country Agreement, which officially established AFI in Malaysia, and has created a solid foundation and welcoming new home for all the members in the AFI network.

“Bank Negara Malaysia has a mandate to develop a progressive and inclusive financial system. AFI has a unique opportunity to accelerate the financial inclusion agenda, and we look forward to continuing on this journey together.”