Press Release No. 11/242

Press Release: The Solomon Islands Begins Participating in the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System

June 20, 2011

The Solomon Islands began participating in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) on June 20, 2011, marking a major step forward in the development of the country’s statistical system. Comprehensive information on the Solomon Islands’ statistical production and dissemination practices now appears on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddscountrylist/).

“The Solomon Islands 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,” said Mr. Denton H. Rarawa, Governor of the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands. “The participation of the Solomon Islands in the GDDS will also lead to the production and dissemination of more reliable and timely statistics,” he added.

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

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. The Solomon Islands is the 99^th GDDS participant (excluding the countries that have graduated from the GDDS to the more rigorous Special Data Dissemination Standard).