GASTAT’s President, Dr. Fahad Aldossari, held a series of bilateral meetings with several heads and directors of international organizations and statistical centers during the Saudi Statistics Forum. The forum was hosted in Riyadh from April 27-28, 2025.
These meetings involved discussions on areas of bilateral cooperation, exploring opportunities for integration and the exchange of expertise in developing statistical work, and examining ways to expand partnerships with leading statistical entities at both regional and international levels. The aim was to enhance data quality and contribute to the development of statistical products and indicators that support decision-making.
The meetings included discussions with: Dr. Johannes Jutting, Executive Head of PARIS21; Dr. Ola Awad, President of PCBS; Dr. Steve Macfeely, OECD Chief Statistician; Professor Xuming He, President of ISI; Mr. Mohamed Bin Ahmed Al Obaidly, Director-General of the National Statistics Center of Qatar; Intisar Abdullah Al Wahaibi, Director General of the GCC Statistical Centre;   Dr. Diaa Awad Kazem, President of the Statistics and Geospatial Information Authority in Iraq; Dr. Khalifa Al-Barwani, Chief Executive Officer at National Centre for Statistics and Information in Oman; Ms. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK, Director General of SESRIC; Mr. Rafeal Diaz, Senior Statistician at ILO; and Dr. Ziad Abdullah, Director General of the Arab Institute for Training and Statistical Research.

During the meetings, Dr. Fahad Aldossari emphasized GASTAT's commitment to strengthening its international and regional partnerships to develop methodologies, enhance the efficiency of statistical systems, expand the scope of open data, and keep pace with global technological advancements in the field of statistics and analysis.

The Saudi Statistics Forum is a significant national platform for activating statistical cooperation, promoting capacity building, and transferring knowledge. It was held with the participation of prominent statistical leaders, decision-makers, and local and international experts, and was attended by over 300 participants from various entities related to statistical work.
 

اختتم المنتدى السعودي للإحصاء أعماله في يومه الأخير بثلاث جلسات حوارية تناولت عددًا من الموضوعات والمحاور الرئيسة في القطاع الإحصائي، بمشاركة عدد من ممثلي المنظمات الدولية والخبراء المحليين والدوليين وصناع القرار.
وشهدت أعمال اليوم الثاني والأخير جلسة حوارية  بعنوان: (الابتكار والتطوير في الأساليب الإحصائية) تحدث المشاركون فيها حول دور التقنيات المبتكرة في تغيير وتحديث طريقة إنتاج البيانات وجمعها وتحليلها عبر مختلف المجالات وتوظيف تقنيات الاستشعار عن بعد والصور من الأقمار الصناعية في الإحصاءات الجغرافية والزراعية واستخدام الأساليب الإحصائية لتحليل الاتجاهات والتوقعات المستقبلية إضافة إلى رفع الوعي بأتمتة العمليات الإحصائية ودور الابتكار الإحصائي في رفع مستوى الثقة في الإحصاءات الرسمية.
فيما خصصت الجلسة الحوارية الرابعة لموضوع: "دور القطاع الخاص في دعم وإنتاج البيانات الإحصائية " والتي تناقش فيها عدد من المختصين في القطاع الإحصائي  حول دور القطاع الخاص في دعم وإنتاج البيانات الإحصائية والتكامل بين المؤسسات الإحصائية ومستخدمي البيانات، إضافة إلى أهمية مساهمة مكونات القطاع الخاص من الشركات والمؤسسات الخاصة في توفير البيانات وإنتاج الإحصاءات ذات العلاقة بالقطاع الخاص أو النطاق التنموي الوطني بشكل عام، والتحديات التي تواجهه في إنتاج البيانات وتوفيرها بجودة عالية، وأهمية البيانات الضخمة وابتكارات التحليل الإحصائي في تحسين جودة التقديرات والمؤشرات الاقتصادية وفرص تعزيز الشراكة بين القطاعين العام والخاص لتطوير مصادر بيانات دقيقة تدعم القرارات الاقتصادية والتنموية. 
واستعرضت الجلسة الأخيرة “أهمية التكامل بين المؤسسات الإحصائية ومستخدمي البيانات" وناقشت سبل تعزيز العلاقة بين المكاتب الإحصائية والمستفيدين، وذلك من خلال تسهيل الوصول إلى بيانات ومؤشرات المنتجات الإحصائية وتقديمها بأشكال متعددة وخدمات متنوعة، والتأكيد على العمل المستمر لتطوير مستوى العلاقة والتواصل من خلال توفير منصات قادرة على تقديم البيانات بطريقة آمنة، وبصيغ رقمية متنوعة مدعومة بالرسوم البيانية والجداول والتصاميم التوضيحية وفق أفضل الممارسات والمعايير والتقنيات المحلية والعالمية. 

GASTAT signed four agreements on the concluding day of the Saudi Statistics Forum. The event was held under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning, Chairman of GASTAT’s Board of Directors. It brought together several ministers, heads and representatives of international organizations and statistical offices, local and international experts and decision-makers in the statistical sector.

The cooperation agreements were signed with the Riyadh Chamber, Jeddah University, the Social Development Bank, and ROSHN Group. The agreements aim to strengthen collaboration, enhance coordination, and integrate efforts across the parties' areas of expertise. They also establish an institutional framework for joint activities and tasks, while supporting the development of institutional capacities in areas of mutual interest.

The areas of cooperation focused on several strategic tracks, most notably the exchange of technical support and expertise according to each party’s specialization, strengthening partnerships in the development of statistical products and indicators, improving the quality of statistical data, and promoting statistical awareness across various sectors.

GASTAT's president, Dr. Fahad Aldossari, emphasized that strengthening cooperation with government and private sectors is a key pillar in achieving national and sustainable development goals. He emphasized that the exchange of statistical data and expertise contributes to enhancing institutional performance efficiency, meeting the needs of various stakeholders, and anticipating future trends for the development of statistical products and services, thereby strengthening the national economy and raising public awareness that supports comprehensive development.

It is worth noting that GASTAT is the only official statistical reference for statistical data and information in Saudi Arabia. It plays a key role in collecting, analyzing, and studying statistical data and information to support decision-makers and policy-makers.

On its first day, the Saudi Statistics Forum — held under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Statistics — witnessed the attendance of a number of Their Highnesses and Excellencies, ministers, heads and representatives of international organizations and statistical offices, local and international experts, and decision-makers in the statistical sector, along with more than 300 individuals interested in statistical work.

The first panel discussion at the forum, titled “The Role of Statistics in Policy Development and Decision-making,” featured the participation of His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Mr. Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef, and His Excellency the President of the General Authority for Statistics, Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Dossari.

The session discussed the impact of collaboration and integration between national statistical offices and governmental and private entities in decision-making and enhancing developmental outcomes. It also addressed the importance of statistical indicators in measuring the success of policies and aligning them with national targets, in addition to highlighting the critical role of statistical data as a fundamental pillar in shaping public policies, making decisions, and setting national priorities.

The second panel discussion was dedicated to the topic of "International Statistical Methodologies and Practices". It featured the participation of the President of the General Authority for Statistics, along with several heads of statistical offices, representatives of international organizations, and several local and international experts. The participants discussed the importance of globally recognized statistical standards and classifications, the unification of methodologies to ensure comparability between countries, and the role of modern technologies in advancing statistical methodologies. They also addressed the challenges facing statistical practices and emphasized the importance of ensuring reliability and transparency in official statistics.

It is worth noting that the Saudi Statistics Forum will continue its specialized sessions focusing on the statistical sector, covering a range of topics such as innovation and development in statistical methods, the role of the private sector in supporting and producing statistical data, and the integration between statistical institutions and data users. These efforts are part of the forum’s broader goal to develop a comprehensive national statistical system that supports decision-making and contributes to achieving sustainable development goals.