Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Marouf Suleiman al-Bakhit, Prime Minister of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Fifth Forum on Statistical Capacity Building for Arab Countries with the theme “Statistics, Media and Policy Making” was held on 4-5 July 2011 in Amman, Jordan. The delegates of National Statistical Offices (NSO) from 13 Arab Countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia, and the representatives of the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), Arab League, EUROSTAT, European Central Bank, International Cooperation Agency for the French Ministries of Economy and Finance (ADETEF), PARIS21, Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Statistics Netherlands, Statistics Norway, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA), and World Bank participated in the Forum. Ms. Münevver Nilgün Egemen, Senior Researcher at the Statistics and Information Department represented the Centre thereat.

Ms. Egemen made a presentation titled “Importance of Regional Initiatives for Supporting National Statistical Systems”. In her presentation, Ms. Egemen informed the participants about how countries and regions can benefit from being part of regional initiatives and about the role of Statistical Commission of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC-StatCom) in statistical capacity development.

During the meeting, recommendations of the previous forums were assessed in the context of lessons learned from the challenges experienced in the implementation of the recommendations. Participants also discussed the knowledge and experience exchange, the role of media to create statistical awareness and increase the visibility, and reputation of the NSOs and their products. The importance of coordination with national stakeholders and strengthening role of international partners by providing financial and technical support were also highlighted for further development of national statistical systems.

At the end of the Forum, draft resolution of the meeting was prepared and it has been decided that the next Forum be organised in the first quarter of 2013 in Lebanon.

Agenda (Arabic) (English)

Presentation on "Importance of Regional Initiatives for Supporting National Statistical Systems"