GCC-Stat, Eurostat discuss cooperation

Muscat, Aug. 20 -- (BNA): The Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) recently received a delegation from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat). The EU delegation's visit comes in line with the Centre’s ongoing efforts to develop the statistical system in the GCC region through cooperation and consultation with the global statistics community. Headed by Pieter Everaers, Director of ‘Cooperation in the European Statistical System, International Cooperation and Resources’ at Eurostat, and accompanied by Cristina Pereira de Sa, Head of Unit A1 " European Statistical System Governance and External Relations, the visiting delegation was received by H.E. Sabir bin Said al Harbi, Director General of GCC-Stat, as well as senior GCC-Stat officials. The three-day visit, between August 10 and 13, 2014, aimed to assist GCC-Stat in enhancing its institutional capacity as a regional coordinator of statistical activities, focusing on improvement of the strategic planning and processes, as well as providing best practices in various statistical activities. Workshops and discussions highlighted GCC-Stat’s work strategy and work plan, legal framework, planning and monitoring of activities, setting up and implementing methodological standards, quality management, working groups, committees and task forces. They also covered various related topics such as emerging issues on the local, regional and global arenas, in addition to future cooperation between the two parties in areas like technical support and capacity building, data collection and data dissemination. Earlier this year, the two parties signed an administrative agreement that aimed to establish international standards for statistics in the GCC region, improve the comparability of statistical information between GCC-Stat and Eurostat, and advance the coordination of international statistics-related activities. By adopting best international management practices, GCC-Stat aspires to boost its services to the GCC member countries and other stakeholders to better meet its mandate. (IY)