SESRIC participated in the 11^th Meeting of the Technical Committee of the Arab Statistics (ArabStat) Initiative, organised by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 13-14 November 2024. The event was attended by the representatives of the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and financial authorities of the Fund’s member countries and other relevant international organisations. SESRIC was represented by Mr. Seyid Tahir MHAMUD, Senior Statistics Officer.

During the meeting, Mr. MAHMUD made a presentation under the technical sessions on Digital Economy Statistics. His presentation provided an overview of the results from the inclination survey, which identifies key areas of interest and offers valuable insights into the capabilities and needs of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in OIC countries, particularly in the areas of digitalization, cybersecurity, machine learning, and AI. These findings will play a crucial role in shaping future efforts to modernize NSOs across member countries. The presentation also highlighted SESRIC`s efforts in enhancing member countries' mutual endeavors to improve their statistical capacities, and the potential future directions that can be followed to further strengthen statistical capacities.

The Committee reviewed the progress achieved towards improving statistical capacity in the AMF member countries through the implementation of the current work plan and discussed the Initiative’s work plan for 2025. The Committee was also informed of the findings of the surveys conducted by the AMF in its member countries.

The “Arabstat” Initiative, launched in early 2013, aims to assist the 22 member countries of the AMF to improve their national statistical systems through strengthening statistical capacity and to promote the implementation of internationally agreed standards, concepts, methods, and frameworks for statistical activities. It also aims at promoting the dissemination of statistical information about the AMF’s member countries.

To carry out its mission effectively, “Arabstat” has two permanent bodies, namely, a Secretariat undertaken by AMF and the Steering Committee acting as an advisory body. The Steering Committee is composed of representatives of National Statistical Offices, Ministries of Finance, Central Banks, and Monetary Agencies of Arab Countries. It also includes representatives of partner development institutions namely, Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), General Secretariat of the Arab League, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Statistical Center for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC-Stat), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and World Bank.

For more information, please visit: https://www.amf.org.ae/en/node/1243

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