In preparation for the launch of the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) this month, Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) held discussions with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on an official visit to Bahrain. 

 

The visit will include focused technical meetings with various government entities responsible for measuring and reporting Bahrain’s financial, economic and demographic data. 

 

In attendance were iGA Chief Executive Mohammed Ali Al Qaed Duaa Sultan, iGA Deputy Chief Executive of Statistics and Population Registry, Dana Imad Hamzah, Assistant Undersecretary for Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Sustainable Development, several directors and officials from iGA’s Statistics and Population Registry departments, and representatives from the Ministry of Finance & National Economy.

 

Commitment to transparency

Al Qaed highlighted the importance of launching the NSDP for Bahrain, emphasising the kingdom's adherence to the IMF’s Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) standards. 

 

This initiative underscores Bahrain's commitment to transparency by providing detailed information, indicators, and statistical data on national accounts, interest rates, government operations, and economic and banking sector indicators, enhancing accessibility of data for international organisations and investors through the NSDP page.

 

In parallel with the IMF delegation's visit, iGA will hold two-days of focused meetings for the statistics teams from the Population & Demographic Statistics as well as a team from Economic Statistics Directorate tasked with updating NSDP. 

 

The meetings will train data administrators on calculating, reporting, and publishing indicators according to IMF standards, utilising the latest data exchange technologies such as the Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange (SDMX) system. It will also address performing annual and quarterly updates aimed at elevating Bahrain’s tiers in the IMF’s data standards.--TradeArabia News Service