Manama : The Minister of Sustainable Development, Her Excellency Noor bint Ali AlKhulaif, affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to support the efforts of the international community towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals which serves as a fundamental basis for building a bright and stable future for all.
Her Excellency hosted a panel discussion on improving data systems, national statistical capacity, and facilitating the collection and monitoring of information on the SDGs. The discussion was attended by Mr. Khaled El-Mekwad, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain, a number of representatives of UN agencies, together with representatives from various government agencies in Bahrain.
Minister AlKhulaif stressed on the importance of strengthening mechanisms for the exchange of data and information and national statistical capacities, to ensure that accurate, relevant and timely SDG-related data are collected and monitored, and to reflect the actual progress made forwards achieving the SDGs. Furthermore, the government team highlighted the current methodologies, challenges faced and plans to continue to facilitate the collection of data related to the SDGs.
During the roundtable, the UN representatives also presented a number of international best practices and shed light on the role of the various UN bodies in providing support on calculating and reporting SDG indicators.
For his part, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain, Mr. Khaled El-Mekwad highlighted the pivotal role of the panel discussion in raising awareness on the importance of collecting data, and
commended the Kingdom’s commitment to collate the data in a timely and periodic manner, whilst ensuring utmost accuracy.
