Today, His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Prince of Al-Jouf Region, received in his office Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Dossari, President of the General Authority for Statistics, along with several staff members, and GASTAT’s branch director in the region, Engineer Jarallah Al-Shamrookhi. During the reception, His Royal Highness was briefed on the works and efforts of GASTAT in providing population and housing statistics at the Kingdom level, specifically concerning Al-Jouf region, its provinces, and affiliated centers. He also listened to an explanation about the role of GASTAT in providing statistical data to support the development of the region, emphasizing the importance of its role and the information it provides to contribute to the development of all regions. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Al-Jouf, highlighted the wise leadership's interest in developing and enhancing the regions, praising the role of GASTAT in providing data and indicators that assist in making future decisions and directions for urban, population, and economic development, achieving goodness and prosperity for the country and its citizens. Dr. Fahad Al-Dossari expressed his gratitude and appreciation to His Royal Highness the Prince of Al-Jouf for his constant attention and continuous follow-up to GASTAT’s work in the region and his support for the branch's activities.

Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Aldossari, the President of the General Authority for Statistics, participated in the opening of the First Conference of the Saudi Association for Statistical Sciences, which was held in Madinah on Sunday, 11 February 2024, under the theme "Statistics and Health." The conference aimed to discuss the latest developments in the field of statistical data and enhance the desired integration with health authorities in issuing health and social indicators and data that contribute to supporting policymakers and decision-makers. In his speech at the conference, Dr. Aldossari expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Saudi Association for Statistical Sciences and the Saudi Society for Medical Education for their excellent organization and reception, while also commending the efforts made to ensure the success of the conference. Dr. Aldossari stated, "For the first time, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) issued six specialized health statistical products at the end of 2023, comprising more than 98 health indicators. GASTAT is keen to adopt a unified working methodology that aligns with the nature of each statistical product, by relying on the Statistical Business Procedures Manual, which is in line with the standards and procedures adopted by international statistical organizations and agencies." He further explained that the role of GASTAT lies in conducting several specialized health surveys, including the Health Condition Survey, Women's Health and Reproductive Care Survey, Health Determinants Survey, and Health Care Survey. He emphasized that GASTAT collected comprehensive and accurate data from all regions of the Kingdom, following an approved methodology for each survey, and applied best practices, methods, and quality models in data collection and analysis to produce the required health statistical publications and indicators. GASTAT’s President affirmed that the Authority is committed, within its strategy, to developing its statistical products in general, and health products in particular, in order to provide high-quality health data and indicators that can be relied upon to support all efforts aimed at developing healthcare services. This support aligns with the Sustainable Development Plans in the healthcare sector in the Kingdom and meets international health requirements that contribute to enhancing the Kingdom's international ranking. It is worth mentioning that the First Conference of the Saudi Association for Statistical Science is sponsored by the Prince Sultan Military Medical City and is held for the first time over a period of 3 days, from 11 February to 13 February 2024. The conference includes several main sessions and workshops on analyzing health insurance data, statistical analysis of medical data using the (R) program, advanced data analysis using the (MS Excel) program, as well as the presentation of scientific medical statistical posters by a group of specialists and speakers, with more than 24 scientific posters and 300 participants.

The Council of Ministers, in its session held yesterday, Tuesday, 6 February 2024, in Riyadh, issued a resolution appointing Ms. Sara Alsuhaimi as a member, and renewing the membership of Mr. David Kalisch in GASTAT’s board of directors as specialists in the field of  GASTAT's work, for a period of three years.

The General Authority for Statistics GASTAT has released the annual statistics publication of foreign direct investment FDI for the year 2022 and for Q3 of 2023 in Saudi Arabia. This is the first time GASTAT has announced these indicators after adopting its calculation methodology in October of last year.  According to the publication's results, the total balance of FDI in Saudi Arabia reached 762 billion SAR at the end of 2022. The total inflows of FDI in Saudi Arabia amounted to 123 billion SAR, while the total outflows reached 17 billion SAR. The net inflows of FDI in Saudi Arabia amounted to 105 billion SAR. In the same context, GASTAT published the statistics of FDI for Q3 of 2023, indicating that the total inflows of FDI in Saudi Arabia amounted to 17 billion SAR. The total outflows of FDI in Saudi Arabia reached 5 billion SAR, while the net inflows of FDI in Saudi Arabia amounted to 11 billion SAR. On this occasion, Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Aldossari, the President of the General Authority for Statistics, affirmed that Saudi Arabia's announcement of FDI for the first time adds a new global standard to improve the quality and transparency of the methodology for calculating FDI statistics. This is achieved by providing globally leading levels of transparency and governance. He also highlighted the joint efforts with the International Monetary Fund in this project and the integration of roles between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Investment to reach the methodology adopted by GASTAT for calculating the index. He explained that it will enable investors to make investment decisions based on reliable results that support decision-makers and policymakers, and to design investment policies that attract more foreign investments and inform investors about the best investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that the new methodology was adopted after alignment with the International Monetary Fund in the new methodology and the confirmation of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to apply the best practices and international standards according to the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments Manual. In addition, the World Bank supported the recommendations presented by the International Monetary Fund in its recent report on Saudi Arabia, which form the basis of the new methodology. The new methodology will contribute to enhancing governance levels and improving the quality of transparency in the statistical data and information for calculating direct foreign investment indicators as an investment destination in Saudi Arabia. FDI Index includes about 19 new indicators as part of the new methodology approved by the International Monetary Fund, including the balance and inflows of direct foreign investment by economic activity, investing countries, and regions of Saudi Arabia for the period from 2007 to 2022.