Assistant Undersecretary for Statistical Information at the Ministry of Planning and Development Muna Al-Da’as

KUWAIT: Kuwait has been fortunate to have achieved a sizable portion of its goals for sustainable development for 2015 and beyond, said an official yesterday. At a meeting celebrating World Statistics Day, Assistant Undersecretary for Statistical Information at the Ministry of Planning and Development, Muna Al-Da'as, delivered a speech in which she stressed that the nation predicated much of its sustainable development plans on information stemmed from collating statistics on the socio-economic conditions in society.

For instance, statistics provided to the government by the Kuwait Central Statistical Bureau through the 2011 census and the 2013 survey of income expenditure by families and the 2014 survey on the status of the work force in the country were instrumental in planning the near and medium future of development plans and economic growth in Kuwait, said Lawaheth Al-Qattan Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs at the ministry.

In implementing a plan to gather statistics and concrete information on the nation's work force, the government has had to work in unison with the World Bank and the UN Development Program (UNDP), she said. Also speaking at the celebration was UNDP representative in Kuwait, Dima Al- Khateeb who emphasized that celebrating the World Statistics Day was an admission by the world community to the imperative that no tangible sustainable development would face success without enormous reliance on a pool of viable statistical information.

This fact, she said, has not been lost on Kuwaitis who have paid serious attention to the usefulness of statistics in the nation's growth and development plans. This is the second World Statistics Day. This year's theme emphasizes the critical role of high-quality official statistical information in analysis and informed policy decision-making in support of sustainable development. It also reflects the importance of sustainable national statistical capacity to produce reliable and timely statistics and indicators measuring a country's progress.

Role of CAS

Meanwhile, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh said official data have become cornerstone for planning and decision making in Kuwait, stressing importance of Central Administration for Statistics (CAS) role in planning and development. Al-Sabeeh, also Minister of State for Development and Planning, made her remarks in a press statement Monday on the sidelines of an event where CAS celebrated World Statistics Day, noting that whenever database and official indicators were comprehensive, their impact grows bigger on the decision making process. Celebrating World Statistic Day in Kuwait is part of boosting Kuwait's pioneering role at the statistical action level and to support development at regional and international levels, the Minister said.

The event was also an opportunity to bolster public awareness on the importance of work and efforts exerted by statisticians at CAS in gathering database, support national and international activities, and contribute to the efforts to achieve the developmental goals for 2015. Al-Sabeeh also mentioned that celebrating World Statistics Day aims at confirming the importance of boosting society partnership in achieving duties and responsibilities of sustainable and integrated development. She said that honoring His Highness the Amir's vision required the collection of accurate statistics in order to monitor the development goals post 2015, as well as achieving Kuwait sustainable developmental plan 2030, and Kuwait's strategic vision for 2035. - Agencies