Dear participants, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. Alfred Hannig,

On behalf of the Central Bank of Armenia, I have the honor to welcome you on the 6th Eastern Europe and Central Asia Policy EGFIP and member virtually training. Time has shown that despite the fact that we still need to meet through these virtual platforms, according to the current situation in the whole world, we are all still highly motivated and have strong willingness to make efforts for the new achievements.

As you may know, these are very difficult times here in Armenia. Despite this, we are strong and keep working on strengthening the financial sector of our country. In this context, we understand how important such collaborative platforms are, and AFI’s initiatives could be considered as a benchmark.

I always mention how proud we are to have a long history of productive cooperation with AFI. Armenia hosted different meetings and programs of AFI and we are as always excited to host another ECAPI-EGFIP and member training. 

I would like to mention the importance of ECAPI as a member-driven platform, which gives a range of possibilities to improve the availability and quality of financial services across the EECA region, develop consumer protection policy and strengthen financial literacy through exchanging the best practices and harmonizing approaches.

The ECAPI-EGFIP and Member Training is a great opportunity to share key achievements and current challenges of member countries. It is a great a chance to summarize the results of work of last few months and explore peer learning opportunities to address specific challenges according to financial education and literacy and digital innovations advancing financial inclusion.

This long-lasting pandemic and its impact on financial and other sectors is a proof of how important is strengthening financial sector by developing policies and initiatives related to financial education and literacy and digital financial services. All our efforts should be addressed to build a strong system of consumer protection with ongoing and targeted educational activities.

We hope that the upcoming training days will be productive. Your participation and sharing knowledge and expertise is highly appreciated.

Once again, welcome and I am confident that you will have days full of interesting, productive and useful interactions.