Press Release No. 13/135

Press Release: International Monetary Fund and Arab Monetary Fund Welcome the Launching of ArabStat

April 18, 2013

Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Nemat Shafik and Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) Director General and Chairman of the Board Dr. Jassim Al Mannai met today in Washington, D.C., to discuss further cooperation between the IMF and the AMF in support of the newly launched ArabStat.

After welcoming the formal launching of ArabStat, Ms. Shafik said “This initiative is a major breakthrough. I am confident that launching a regional statistical initiative in the Middle East and North Africa will help further improve the quality and dissemination of macroeconomic data in Arab countries, develop further statistical capacity and systems, and promote transparency and cooperation among Arab national and regional statistics-producing agencies.”

Looking ahead, Ms. Shafik reiterated the IMF’s continued support for ArabStat and encouraged the AMF to continue with its efforts to set up an effective regional initiative to enhance statistical development and reforms in the Arab region.

Dr. Al Mannai stressed the importance of the project for the region and added that “the AMF is very committed to providing ArabStat with the necessary support to succeed in developing further the statistical capacity and systems in the Arab countries.”

Background

On April 2, 2013, the Council of Arab Finance Ministers formally approved in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the launching of ArabStat, as a regional statistical initiative, marking a major step forward in the development of the region’s statistical systems. Building on the recommendation of the IMF’s Middle-East Advisory Group, the creation of ArabStat was proposed to assist ongoing efforts to develop further statistical capacity and systems and support home-grown efforts to improve data compilation and dissemination the region. The launching of ArabStat is the culmination of close cooperation between the IMF and the authorities in the region to improve data quality and further develop statistical systems.