The G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) has held a two-day meeting to finalize the G20 High-Level Policy Guidelines on Digital Financial Inclusion for Youth, Women and SMEs. The G20 High-Level Policy Guidelines identify supportive and effective policies that will be a valuable resource for governments, the private sector and the international development community, with the aim of reducing the gaps in financial inclusion for youth, women and SMEs through digital financial services, the Saudi G20 Secretariat said in a statement on Sunday. The COVID-19 outbreak and its challenging economic impacts have amplified the critical need for digital access to affordable financial products and services for individuals and SMEs, it said. As governments around the world have responded to the health, social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, digitalization has been recognized as being of paramount importance and relevance in ensuring continuity of access to financial services, said the statement. The GPFI members issued a Statement on COVID-19 Response, reaffirming the G20 commitment under the G20 Action Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it added. “We realize the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial inclusion, and we reaffirm our commitment to promote financial inclusion by promoting accessible and affordable financial products and services through conventional and responsible digital means while ensuring financial consumer protection in our journey toward global economic recovery,” It quoted the Saudi Co-Chair of the G20 GPFI, Haitham Al Ghulaiga, as saying.