Dutch queen departs Jordan after four-day visit to promote financial inclusion

AMMAN — Queen Maxima of The Netherlands on Wednesday wrapped up her four-day visit to the Kingdom where she met their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania.

Queen Maxima, in her capacity as the UN secretary general’s special advocate for inclusive finance for development, visited Jordan to follow up on projects for a number of organisations concerned with women and Syrian refugees.

During her four-day tour, the Dutch queen visited Salt Governorate and the central region. In Amman, she visited a project for community-support committees, implemented by The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development and financed by the UNHCR.

During her visit with their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania, the King praised Queen Maxima’s relentless efforts in supporting comprehensive development around the world, according to a Royal Court statement.

Their talks covered plans and programmes Jordan is implementing to stimulate economic growth and create more jobs, in addition to the measures aimed at securing funds for the youth, women, entrepreneurs and SMEs.

They also touched on the London conference, scheduled for the end of February to support the Jordanian economy.

The Dutch queen met with several entrepreneurial women during her visit and before leaving she praised the role of women entrepreneurs in Jordan, saying that they have set an excellent example of success for other women to follow, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Since 2009, Queen Maxima has been working worldwide to make financial services accessible to all, including low-income groups and SMEs, to increase their prospects for economic and social development. Since 2011, she has also been an honorary patron of the G-20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.

The Dutch queen was seen off by Amman Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh, the Dutch Ambassador to Jordan Barbara Joziasse and a number of civil and military officials at Queen Alia International Airport.