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.

وقّعت الهيئة العامة للإحصاء مذكرة تفاهم مع "إحصاءات إستونيا" في جمهورية إستونيا، أثناء انعقاد المنتدى السعودي للإحصاء، الذي أُقيم في مدينة الرياض خلال الفترة من 27 إلى 28 أبريل 2025م، وذلك في إطار تعزيز التعاون الدولي في مجال العمل الإحصائي.

وتهدف مذكرة التفاهم إلى رفع مستوى التعاون بين الجانبين، وتعزيز التنسيق وتكامل الجهود في المجالات الإحصائية، إضافة إلى تطوير القدرات المؤسسية، وبناء إطار عام للأنشطة والمهام المشتركة، بما يخدم الأهداف الاستراتيجية للطرفين. وقد وقّع الاتفاقية كلٌ من الدكتور فهد بن عبدالله الدوسري، رئيس الهيئة العامة للإحصاء، والسيد أورميت لي، المدير العام لـ "إحصاءات إستونيا".

وتتضمن المذكرة التعاون في تبادل الخبرات والدعم الفني والمعرفي، إلى جانب تبادل البرامج الخاصة بنشر الوعي الإحصائي، واستراتيجيات التواصل مع الجمهور، وتنظيم المؤتمرات والندوات وورش العمل، فضلاً عن تبادل الزيارات بين الخبراء والمختصين في المجالات ذات العلاقة بالأعمال الإحصائية.

يذكر أن المنتدى السعودي للإحصاء هو الأول من نوعه، ويهدف إلى مناقشة مواضيع مهمة على الصعيد الإحصائي وبيان الأثر الإيجابي لقطاع الإحصاء في دعم مسيرة النهضة والتنمية المستدامة في المملكة وترسيخ أهمية البيانات والإحصاءات في وعي أفراد المجتمع.
 

In the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning, Mr. Faisal bin Fadel Alibrahim; His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Mr. Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef and Mr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Secretary-General of the National Planning Council, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Statistics Center of Qatar. The signing took place on the sidelines of the first Saudi Statistics Forum.
The agreement aims to elevate the level of cooperation between the two parties, enhance coordination, and integrate efforts in their respective fields. Furthermore, it seeks to establish a general framework for joint activities and tasks, develop institutional capabilities, and foster integration to serve common objectives.
The agreement was signed by His Excellency Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Aldossari, President of the General Authority for Statistics, and His Excellency Mr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al-Obaidli, Director-General of the National Statistics Center of Qatar. The memorandum outlines several key areas of cooperation, including the exchange of technical expertise and knowledge aligned with each party’s area of specialization in mutually relevant fields. It also covers the development and sharing of programs aimed at promoting statistical awareness, strategies for public engagement, and the joint organization of conferences, seminars, and workshops. Additionally, it encourages the exchange of visits between experts and specialists engaged in statistical activities.

In this context, Dr. Fahad Aldossari emphasized that GASTAT’s statistical efforts play a vital role in advancing the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 by developing and monitoring statistical indicators. Pointing out that cooperation with the National Statistics Centre of Qatar contributes to measuring progress towards achieving the objectives of national visions and sustainable development through joint work in raising the level of performance concerning the exchange of statistical data, meeting the requirements of both parties and identifying statistical developments and future trends in developing statistical products. This collaboration aims to support the national economy and sustainable development, enhance knowledge, and build societal awareness towards the various sectors and activities of the state.

It is worth noting that the General Authority for Statistics is the entity responsible for statistics in the Kingdom and the sole official reference for implementing and technically supervising and organizing statistical work. GASTAT's tasks are diverse and include collecting statistical data and information from public and private entities and individuals, as well as analyzing and studying this data.

وقّع رئيس الهيئة العامة للإحصاء، الدكتور فهد بن عبدالله الدوسري، مذكرة تفاهم مع مدير عام إحصاءات فنلندا بجمهورية فنلندا، الأستاذ ماركوس سوفالا، بحضور معالي وزير الاقتصاد والتخطيط، رئيس مجلس إدارة الهيئة العامة للإحصاء، الأستاذ فيصل بن فاضل الإبراهيم، ومعالي وزير الصناعة والثروة المعدنية الأستاذ بندر بن إبراهيم الخريف، وذلك خلال انعقاد أعمال المنتدى السعودي للإحصاء، الذي نظمته الهيئة العامة للإحصاء في العاصمة الرياض، خلال يومي 27-28 أبريل 2025م.

وتهدف المذكرة إلى رفع مستوى التعاون بين الطرفين، وتعزيز التنسيق وتكامل الجهود في مجالات العمل الإحصائي، إلى جانب وضع إطار عام للأنشطة والمهام المشتركة، وتطوير القدرات المؤسسية بما يخدم الأهداف الاستراتيجية للطرفين، كما تشمل مجالات متعددة للتعاون، من أبرزها: تبادل الدعم والخبرات الفنية والمعرفية بحسب اختصاص كل طرف، وتبادل البرامج المعنية بنشر الوعي الإحصائي، واستراتيجيات التواصل مع الجمهور، إضافة إلى تنظيم المؤتمرات والندوات وورش العمل.

يذكر أن المنتدى السعودي للإحصاء هو الأول من نوعه، ويهدف إلى مناقشة مواضيع مهمة على الصعيد الإحصائي وبيان الأثر الإيجابي لقطاع الإحصاء في دعم مسيرة النهضة والتنمية المستدامة في المملكة وترسيخ أهمية البيانات والإحصاءات في وعي أفراد المجتمع.
 

Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GASTAT, Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim, the Saudi Statistical Forum was launched, organized by GASTAT in the capital, Riyadh, with the participation of a number of HE ministers, heads and representatives of international organizations and statistical offices, as well as local and international experts and decision-makers in the statistical sector. The forum was attended by more than 300 individuals interested in statistical work and will continue over two days, 27–28 April 2025.
His Excellency Minister Faisal Alibrahim delivered a speech in which he emphasized that the forum was inspired by the  insightful guidance of HRH the Crown Prince in developing and advancing the Kingdom’s data system, to serve as an example in measuring performance levels and identifying the impact of legislation through data and statistical indicators. He confirmed that the Kingdom has made great strides in enhancing the quality and accuracy of indicators, including economic, social, and environmental statistics. Statistics and data today have become a reliable reference for decision-makers.
His Excellency added that we will continue  in the coming phase to develop data platforms, strengthen the digital transformation journey, and benefit from artificial intelligence and modern technologies in developing statistical processes and data analysis, in a way that enhances efficiency, increases the accuracy of indicators, facilitates access to information, and contributes to accelerating the pace of development and maximizing the positive impact locally and globally in statistical work.”
For his part, Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Aldossari, President of GASTAT, expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning for his sponsorship of the forum, valuing at the same time the presence of HE the ministers, specialists, and experts from inside and outside the Kingdom, which adds qualitative momentum to the forum and reinforces its role as a national platform concerned with the development of statistical work and the support of public policies and knowledge-based decision-making.
Dr. Aldossari clarified that the forum organized by GASTAT stems from its belief in the importance of meeting, integration, and exchange of expertise to build a knowledge-based future founded on reliable data and statistics. He pointed out that GASTAT constantly works to develop its statistical system in a way that enhances the capacities of entities and supports decision-makers in planning and policy-making to achieve national objectives.
The forum's agenda includes five panel sessions. On the first day of the forum, two panel sessions will be held. The first session "The Role of Statistics in Policy Development and Decision Making" will be attended by His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef, and Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Aldossari , President of GASTAT. The session will  highlight the importance of statistical data as a fundamental pillar in the formulation of public policies, decision-making, defining national priorities. It will also emphasize the role of data providers in improving data quality and accuracy, as well as the importance of statistical indicators in measuring the success of policies and their alignment with national objectives, and the impact of cooperation and integration between national statistical offices and governmental and private entities in decision-making and enhancing developmental impact.
The second session "International Statistical Methodologies and Practices" will include the participation of several heads of statistical offices, representatives of international organizations, and local and international experts. The speakers will discuss the importance of globally approved statistical standards and classifications and the unification of methodologies to ensure comparability between countries, the role of modern technologies in developing statistical methodologies, in addition to discussing challenges in statistical practices and ensuring reliability and transparency in official statistics.
Speakers on the second day of the forum will participate in three panel sessions, namely:
Modern Methods of Innovation and Statistical Development,
The Role of the Private Sector in Producing Statistical Data,
Enhancing the Relationship Between Agencies and Data Beneficiaries
The third and fourth sessions will address the importance of remote sensing technologies and satellite imagery in geographic and agricultural statistics, and the use of advanced statistical methods in data analysis and their impact on decision-making, as well as the challenges facing the private sector in data production, and opportunities to enhance the partnership between the public and private sectors to develop sustainable and accurate data sources that support economic and developmental decision-making.
The forum will dedicate the final session to discussing the mechanism for facilitating access to data and statistical indicators in multiple formats that allow data users to access and interact with the data in ways that meet their needs, and to develop the level of relationship and communication with users through the provision of secure and diverse digital platforms for presenting data supported by charts, tables, and illustrative visuals. In addition, it will highlight the importance of providing high-quality data that contributes to supporting the private sector and its future directions.
On the first day, GASTAT signed a number of agreements with several statistical offices and centers in the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Estonia, and the Republic of Finland, aiming to exchange expertise to develop statistical work.
It is worth mentioning that the Saudi Statistical Forum is the first of its kind and aims to discuss important topics at the statistical level and highlight the positive impact of the statistical sector in supporting the course of renaissance and sustainable development in the Kingdom, and in reinforcing the importance of data and statistics in raising awareness among members of society.

GASTAT’s President, Dr. Fahad Aldossari, and Managing Director of FCSC, Ms. Hanan Mansour AHLI, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two entities in the presence of H.E. Faisal F. Alibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning and Chairman of GASTAT's Board of Directors; H.E. Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources; and H.E. Sheikh Nahyan bin Saif Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The MoU was signed during the Saudi Statistics Forum held in Riyadh. This initiative aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in statistical fields. It seeks to coordinate and integrate efforts in areas of statistical work, develop institutional capacities, and exchange technical and knowledge-based expertise. It also aims to share programs related to raising statistical awareness and public communication strategies and organize conferences, seminars, and workshops.

Under the patronage His Excellency Faisal bin Fadhel Al-Ibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning and Chairman of GASTAT’s Board of Directors, The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) is launching the First Saudi Statistics Forum this coming Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Riyadh, under the theme “Statistics for Sustainable Opportunities”. The event will run for two days, concluding on April 28.
The forum will gather high-level participants, including ministers, leaders and representatives of international organizations, experts from statistical offices, and both local and international specialists. More than 300 attendees with a strong interest in statistical development are expected to participate.
The agenda will explore several key topics across five sessions. Discussions will begin with the role of statistics in policy development and decision-making. Subsequent sessions will cover global methodologies and practices in statistics, as well as the latest innovations and developments in statistical techniques. Attention will also be given to how the private sector contributes to producing and supporting statistical data. The forum will conclude with a session focused on strengthening collaboration between statistical institutions and data users.
As the first national platform of its kind, the Saudi Statistics Forum aims to spotlight the growing importance of data in supporting the Kingdom’s sustainable development journey, aligning with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. It also seeks to raise public awareness of the impact and value of reliable statistics in everyday life.
GASTAT has called on statisticians, data professionals, and stakeholders to take part in this significant event and benefit from the insights shared by experts from across the globe. For registration and more details, visit:
https://ssf.eventy.sa/?event_id=dhcimVphLIB1d4J3r9yJnA