Press Release: The Syrian Arab Republic Begins Participation in the IMF's General Data Dissemination System

December 17, 2007

Press Release No. 07/293

The Syrian Arab Republic began participating in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) on December 12, 2007, marking a major step forward in the development of its statistical system. Comprehensive information on Syria's statistical production and dissemination practices now appears on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddscountrylist/.

To mark the occasion, the newly appointed Director General of Syria's Central Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Shafik Arbach, noted: "The Syrian authorities recognize the need and importance of improvements in the country's statistical system. A Strategy for Statistical Capacity Building 2006-2010 had been formulated recently. Within the framework of the Strategy, participation in the GDDS has assumed a central importance in the country's statistical development. Syria's GDDS participation gains even more importance at this juncture, as Syria undergoes rapid economic and structural changes. The IMF's GDDS provides an excellent framework for the development of statistical systems. I am confident that Syria's participation in the GDDS will ultimately lead to the production and dissemination of more reliable and timely statistics needed for economic policymaking and monitoring developments."

Director of the IMF Statistics Department Robert Edwards welcomed Syria's GDDS participation and observed: "Syria's participation in the GDDS is a milestone in Syria's statistical development. Participation in the GDDS should allow Syria to take full advantage of the framework to enhance its statistical capacity, this would encourage other countries in the region to follow the same path. The IMF and the Middle East Technical Assistance Center are ready to further collaborate with Syria."

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. Syria is the 90th GDDS participant.

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