A view of the Bhosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey.
We are in Turkey this week for meetings in Ankara with our member, the Undersecretary of the Turkish Treasury, and attending the international conference in Istanbul hosted by the G20 Turkish Presidency and the Institute of International Finance (IIF).
It is exciting to see the G20 Agenda of the Turkish Presidency unfolding. Indeed, given its alignment with several of AFI’s objectives and the perceived determination of the Turkish authorities in reaping the opportunities of the G20 Presidency the agenda is promising to the entire AFI membership. Like the famous bridge in Istanbul spanning the Bosphorus strait, thus connecting Europe and Asia, the Turkish G20 Presidency aims to make the G20 more relevant to the rest of the world, i.e. non-G20 countries, and ensure that in particular Low Income Developing Countries’ (LIDCs) perspectives are present in all relevant aspects of the G20 agenda.
Structured around the three key themes of Inclusiveness, Implementation, and Investment (the “3 I’s”) with the ultimate objective to ensure inclusive growth, greater financial inclusion including financing SMEs will be a key driver in making the “3 I’s” a reality. Turkey puts particular emphasis on an increasing role of the private sector in financial inclusion recognizing its role in sourcing innovation and driving regulation.
The IIF G20 Conference: The G20 Agenda under the Turkish Presidency’s Financial Inclusion and New Technologies session on 8 February 2015 in Istanbul.
AFI is pleased to be working with the Turkish G20 Presidency in building the bridges during this year. Practical knowledge and engagement from the AFI membership will be key in informing the G20 agenda in Turkey, and AFI members’ policy and regulatory reforms to be launched or continued in 2015 will add significant value and relevance to the implementation focus spelled out by Turkey. AFI’s Public Private Dialogue (PPD) Platform, which was successfully introduced to private sector CEOs in Davos a couple of weeks ago and presented to the IIF audience yesterday, is welcomed by the Turkish Government as this platform emerges as an unique interlocutor for the private sector to provide systematic input to financial inclusion policymaking and regulatory efforts of AFI members.
Looking out of the window on this hazy February morning the Bosphorus Bridge seems to be struggling to be seen. With the Turkish G20 agenda dynamically moving forward with AFI’s support we have reason to believe that the fog will lift and the intended connections between the continents and countries will be a visible and tangible outcome for everyone in the course of the year.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alfred Hannig is the Executive Director at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). He has overseen the growth of AFI from an organization with a few enthusiastic members, into a global alliance and important knowledge hub of policymaking and regulatory institutions from nearly 100 developing and emerging nations.
