Press Release No. 10/1

Press Release: Haiti Begins Participation in the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System

January 5, 2010

Haiti began participating in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) on December 28, 2009, marking a major step forward in the development of its statistical system. Comprehensive information on Haiti’s statistical production and dissemination practices now appears on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddscountrylist/).

To mark the occasion, the Honorable Ronald Baudin, Minister of Economy and Finances of Haiti, noted: “Haiti is committed to use the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System as a general framework to continue developing the national statistical system consistent with best international practices. The participation of Haiti in the GDDS will also lead to the production and dissemination of more reliable and timely statistics.”

Ms. Adelheid Burgi-Schmelz, Director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, welcomed Haiti’s participation in the GDDS and observed: “Haiti’s participation in the GDDS is a major milestone in the country’s statistical development. I am confident that Haiti will benefit from using the GDDS as a framework for further development of its statistical system.”

The GDDS was established by the IMF in 1997. It provides a framework to help countries to develop their statistical systems to produce comprehensive and accurate statistics for policymaking and analysis. Haiti is the 98^th GDDS participant (excluding the countries that have graduated from the GDDS to the Special Data Dissemination Standard - SDDS).