SESRIC - Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries
SESRIC Participated in the 51st Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS)
Date: 27 September 2026
Venue: Jeddah - Saudi Arabia

SESRIC participated in the 51st Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 27 September 2026 and hosted by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

The Board of Trustees brings together the heads of the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of the AITRS member countries. The agenda of the 51st Meeting covered the following items:

  • Report of the external auditor on the implementation of the Institute’s budget for 2025
  • Report on the progress of the Institute’s work and the implementation of its annual programme in 2026
  • The Institute’s Work Plan for 2027–2028 and its draft budget for 2027
  • Strategic planning to enhance innovation and digital transformation in Arab statistical institutions, including the 2027–2030 Five-Year Plan stemming from the Institute’s 2020–2030 Strategic Framework, and the modernisation of Arab statistical systems
  • Statistical activities and initiatives in Arab countries, presented by the NSOs

During the Meeting, H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK, Director General of SESRIC, addressed the Board on the cooperation between SESRIC and AITRS. She stated that 22 OIC Member Countries, almost 40% of the OIC, are also members of AITRS, which provides a strong foundation for a complementary partnership in strengthening the capacities of NSOs.

H.E. SELÇUK underlined that the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Jeddah in 2023 enables the two institutions to align their training calendars and avoid duplication of efforts. Since 2009, SESRIC and AITRS have jointly organised 16 activities for their common member countries, reaching more than 600 participants, in areas ranging from the monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators to digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI).

She also thanked H.E. Dr. Ziad ABDALLAH, Director General of AITRS, and his team for their active participation in the sessions of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom), for which SESRIC serves as Secretariat, and in its Follow-up Meetings held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC).

She further noted that both institutions are members of the Global Network of Institutions for Statistical Training (GIST), which creates synergies for using resources efficiently, exploring new partnerships and conveying the needs of their member countries in the global statistical arena. Looking ahead to the AITRS Work Plan for 2027–2028, H.E. SELÇUK expressed SESRIC’s readiness to deepen its collaboration with AITRS, including through co-organised regional activities in emerging statistical domains such as the application of AI in surveys, the measurement of the digital economy and the modernisation of national accounts.

In closing, H.E. SELÇUK reaffirmed SESRIC’s commitment to working closely with AITRS in support of resilient national statistical systems and evidence-based policymaking across OIC Member Countries.

AITRS, based in Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a regional institution that provides statistical training and conducts research to strengthen the capacities of the NSOs of Arab countries.

For more information, please visit: https://www.aitrs.org/en