The conference to implement the action programme on the national financial inclusion strategy (Photo: SBV)

NDO – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has launched an action programme to realise the national financial inclusion strategy moving towards 2025 and with a view to 2030.

Speaking at a conference on September 10 Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh asked the units concerned to integrate the contents of the action programme and the strategy into their development plans.

Financial inclusion refers to the provision of financial services to all members of society, especially the vulnerable, and is considered one of the pillars of sustainable development.

According to Anh, the traditional growth model has exposed its flaws in many countries where high growth does not always translate into poverty reduction and growing inequality has marginalised part of the population and led to social and political unrest.

Therefore, inclusive growth, of which financial inclusion is a key, will help ensure harmony between economic growth, social equality and environmental protection.

In Vietnam the government has introduced various policies and programmes on financial inclusion targeting poor households, residents in remote areas, underprivileged students and small and medium-sized enterprises, with notably positive results.

In January the government approved its national financial inclusion strategy towards 2025 with a view to 2030 which is expected to have far-reaching impacts on socio-economic life.

The strategy includes a variety of measures to mobilise state and private resources in order to ensure convenient access to appropriate and affordable financial services for all Vietnamese citizens and enterprises.