Manama : As part of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s presidency of the 46th session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, Chief Executive of the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA), chaired the remote 14th meeting of the Permanent Committee on Statistical Affairs of the GCC countries.
Al Qaed highlighted the importance of continuing to strengthen cooperation and coordination among the statistical agencies of the GCC countries in a manner that contributes to the development of Gulf statistical work and the unification of efforts aimed at providing accurate and reliable statistical data and indicators that support development and decision-making across GCC states.
He also commended the advanced levels of digital and technological readiness achieved by GCC countries, which have enhanced institutional continuity and strengthened their ability to deal efficiently and effectively with the repercussions of the malicious Iranian attacks against Bahrain and GCC countries.
The meeting discussed several agenda items, most notably a review of the efforts undertaken by the GCC Statistical Centre during the period from September 2025 to April 2026 in the fields of statistical capacity building, the organisation of workshops, seminars and training courses, statistical publishing, and the development of the centre’s electronic statistical platforms. The committee also followed up on the implementation of the recommendations of the 12th meeting of the Permanent Committee on Statistical Affairs.
The committee further reviewed a memorandum regarding the hosting by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of the Sixth United Nations World Data Forum in 2026 and the preparations and arrangements undertaken for the event, affirming GCC support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in organising this important statistical event.
The committee also reviewed developments related to the preparation of the Strategic Plan for Joint Statistical Work (2026–2030). In addition, it examined the project to develop the GCC Framework for Statistical Standards and Methodologies (2026–2030), which aims to support the harmonisation of statistical concepts among GCC statistical agencies, as well as a memorandum on guidelines for making microdata available to international organisations.
