KARACHI, Nov 22: The State Bank of Pakistan in collaboration with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), will host a regional forum on ‘Financial Inclusion’ in Karachi from February 14 to 15, 2008.

This is for the first time that such a high-level forum on financial inclusion will be held in Pakistan. Governors of central banks, heads of financial regulatory authorities from the member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) as well as the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand will participate in the forum.

The forum will be primarily a consultative body for the leading finance officials of the member countries and will also invite financial inclusion experts from across the globe to draw from international best practices. The expected outcomes of the forum include the formation of a regional consultative group on financial inclusion policy.

The significance of this event is reflected in the fact that the World Economic Forum (WEF), 2008, has also dedicated a session to financial inclusion. The regional forum will thus provide an opportunity to further develop policy guidelines in the regional context, taking its cue from the discussions held at the WEF.

Developing an inclusive financial sector is increasingly becoming a policy priority for both developed and emerging economies.

The substantially high proportion of people without access to financial services in many developing countries is widely recognised as one of the fundamental constraints in achieving sustainable economic growth.

High levels of financial exclusion and the weak financial sectors that tend to be associated with such exclusion also hinder private sector development, lowering investment and trade.