The National Bank of Romania had the honor and pleasure of opening the OECD / INFE – Romania Symposium on Financial Education, in partnership with the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Romanian Association of Banks. The symposium took place at the National Museum of Art of Romania, in the Throne Room, where Romania’s architectural and cultural heritage has deep historical reverberations.
We were delighted to host distinguished guests, representatives from public authorities, central banks, academia and financial authorities from 65 OECD member and affiliated countries.
The OECD / INFE – Romania symposium “Financial literacy to support security, independence and inclusion“, was the central event of the biannual meeting of the OECD International Financial Education Network (INFE), hosted in Bucharest, between 5-8 May.
The participation of the prominent representatives of the Romanian state confirmed the strategic importance that Romania attaches both to financial education and to the valuable partnership with the OECD.
The symposium benefited, at the opening, from the messages sent by the President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, the President of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean, the Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, Natalia Intotero, the Prime Minister of Romania through the Head of the Chancellery – Mihai Jurca, the Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare. At the same time, Luminița Odobescu, State Counselor to the Prime Minister, Alexandru Petrescu, President of the Financial Supervisory Authority, Sorin Ion, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Education and Research, addressed messages in support of financial education, relevant to the symposium.
On behalf of the OECD, the key messages were conveyed by Yasushi Masaki, Deputy Secretary General, Magda Bianco, President of INFE, and Miles Larbey, OECD Head for Financial Services Consumer Protection, offering valuable insights on the benefits of financial education and appreciating, at the same time, the significant progress made by Romania in preparing the OECD accession process, expected this year.
In the opening speech of the event, as coordinator of the financial education programs of the National Bank of Romania, I highlighted some key ideas regarding the essential role of financial education in ensuring economic stability and sustainability:
- Economic resilience is built through strong institutions, coherent policies and well-informed citizens. In this sense, financial education is a pillar of economic stability.
- Financial education has a direct impact on the quality of public policies. When governments show responsibility, through sound public finances, they send a coherent message in favor of financial sustainability.
- In the absence of responsible policies, the trap of economic populism intervenes, and public policies resort only to short-term measures, focused on deficits and public debt.
- Globally, public debt has reached an all-time high of 100% of global GDP, raising concerns about fiscal sustainability. Therefore, the principle of economic responsibility is the one that must guide public policies.
- Romania’s membership in the European Union and NATO have fundamentally shaped the economic and institutional development of our country. In the same way, joining the OECD can generate the necessary impetus for the next stage of development of our country.
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