Business news

MINSK, 18 September (BelTA) - Minsk will play host to the high-level conference on the OECD financial education project for the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States on 19 September, BelTA learned from the information and public relations department of the National Bank of Belarus.

The conference will bring together representatives of the OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE), Russia's Ministry of Finance, the National Bank of Belarus, and agencies concerned of Belarus and other countries – participants of the project, international experts and researchers in the field of financial education. The conference will lay the foundation for a practical dialogue between the OECD and the financial authorities of the project participating countries on the prospects of using financial education to address economic problems in the CIS countries and the OECD plans to support the current and upcoming regional events in the field of financial literacy,” the National Bank stressed.

The key topics of the conference will be reviewed during a workshop of the participants of the project which will also be held in the capital of Belarus on 20 September.

The OECD is steering and managing the three-year Technical Assistance Project on Financial Education in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) with the financial support of the Ministry of Finance of Russia. Participants in the project are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The objectives of the project are the development and implementation of specific recommendations on key policy areas in the field of financial education, technical assistance in the development, implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of national strategies the field of financial education in the CIS member countries.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organization of developed countries recognizing the principles of representative democracy and free-market economy. It designed first financial education programs in 2003. Following the positive global assessment of its financial education efforts, the OECD set up the International Network on Financial Education (INFE) in 2008. The INFE currently includes over 240 institutions of 110 countries that goes far beyond the OECD membership.

The National Bank is in charge of the work to improve financial literacy in Belarus. Currently underway is the plan of joint actions of the public authorities and financial market participants to improve the financial literacy of the population in 2013-2018 approved by the joint resolution of the Council of Ministers and the National Bank. The financial market development strategy until 2020 envisages the development of a new plan of joint actions of the public authorities and financial market participants to advance financial literacy in 2019-2024.