AFI Executive Director Alfred Hannig met with Arthur Javadyan, governor of Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) and Vakhtang Abrahamyan, member of CBA’s board of directors in Yerevan, Armenia on 23 June.

Governor Javadyan expressed strong support for AFI’s transition to independence, and indicated CBA’s intention to continue to provide thought leadership in the AFI Network, both at the regional and global level, particularly in the area of consumer protection and empowerment policy. Governor Javadyan also shared that CBA’s Maya Declaration, which CBA submitted in 2012, has helped to guide its national financial inclusion strategy.

Hannig later visited the CBA Training and Research Center, a state-of-the-art capacity building and knowledge development facility built by CBA three years ago in Dilijan, Armenia. As part of its support for AFI’s transition to independence, CBA has extended an invitation to AFI to jointly design a regional and/or global peer-learning activity focused on consumer protection and empowerment that would be hosted at their research center.

“CBA’s commitment to financial inclusion and to AFI, and its policy achievements at the national level have been truly impressive,” said Hannig. “I have also been impressed by CBA’s commitment to research, capacity building and peer learning, as is evidenced by its cutting edge Research and Training Facility in Dilijan.  Looking ahead, there is great potential for CBA and AFI to scale up learning in the area of consumer protection and empowerment policy for the benefit of AFI members globally.”

CBA joined AFI in February 2011, and made a Maya Declaration Commitment in 2012 in the areas of financial literacy, consumer protection and digital financial services. CBA has demonstrated strong global leadership as the current Chair of AFI’s Consumer Protection and Empowerment (CEMC) Working Group as well as through its commitment to strengthen peer learning at the regional level in Europe and Central Asia. In 2013, CBA received an AFI CEMC policy grant (completed earlier this year) to undertake a countrywide financial capability assessment as part of the National Strategy for Financial Education.