Vakhtang Burkiashvili, Executive Director of the NBG, participated in the opening meeting of the new 5-year financial education project of the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the International Network on Financial Education of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (OECD/INFE).

The new technical assistance project brings together 9 South-Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Croatia, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) together with Georgia and acts to promote the improvement of financial education in the region.

The meeting recapped the progress achieved in financial literacy in the countries participating in the project and discussed the prospects of future work, while also focusing on the challenges and innovative approaches in financial education, especially the initiatives tailored to the needs of young people and vulnerable socio-demographic groups.

At the panel "Financial Education and Financial Literacy: New Challenges and Strategic Priorities", the Executive Director of the NBG shared the experience of Georgia with the meeting participants and introduced the financial education actions taken by the NBG. He also mentioned the updated document of the National Strategy of Financial Education 2023, developed on the basis of the experience, responding to the underlying challenges of financial education in a more targeted way.

The NBG developed the first National Strategy document in 2016. The original document was based on international experience and best practices and acted to raise awareness of the benefits of financial education.

"The revised strategy of financial education is based on the experience, challenges and research already accumulated in the country and is better adapted to the specific challenges of the country. Accordingly, the goals in the new strategy are more specific, that is, the promotion of financial education of the younger generation and helping them prepare for the future life. The strategy paper also acts to promote the reasonable financial behavior of the citizens and encourages them to form attitudes.

 

Now, 6 years after the adoption of the first strategy, we are certain that we now have much more confidence, experience and better understanding of peers to achieve more ambitious results. I hope that we will be able to accomplish good results with the support and guidance of international partners, and engagement with the public, private and civil sectors. This is especially relevant now that the European Commission has issued a recommendation on granting the candidate status to Georgia. It undoubtedly means that Georgia is an acceptable and welcomed partner country for the European Union", said Vakhtang Burkiashvili.

Executive Director of the NBG thanked the representatives of the International Network on Financial Education OECD/INFE and the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands for the support provided within the framework of technical assistance. "Thank you for your important contribution in raising the financial education of our country over the past 5 years. We hope that the next 5 years will be even more fruitful, as we will proceed with the project with more experience and confidence from now on", Vakhtang Burkiashvili said at the end of the meeting.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands took part in the international meeting. In her speech, she talked about the importance of financial education and answered the questions of the attendees. Importantly, Queen Maxima has been actively involved in raising the level of financial education in the country for years.

The meeting was opened by Sigrid Kaag, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Netherlands, and OECD Secretary General Matthias Corman.

Employees of the National Bank of Georgia and the Ministry of Education and Science also participated in the event along with 50 representatives of different countries.

Established in 2008, the OECD International Network on Financial Education of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD/INFE) promotes international cooperation between state authorities working in financial education and other stakeholders. OECD/INFE is a platform for data collection, analytical and comparative reports, research and development of financial education policy documents. OECD/INFE brings together more than 240 public institutions of over 110 countries.