Turkmenistan presented national approaches to improving global reporting on the SDGs at the UN Statistical Commission

From February 27 to March 1, 2024, the 55th session of the UN Statistical Commission was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The session focused on leveraging data for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The meetings were attended by heads and representatives of the national statistical sector of the 24 member states of the Commission, observers from other countries, representatives of organizations of the UN system and international and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council.

Led by the Chairman of the State Committee on Statistics, Mr. Dovletgeldi Amanmuhammedov, the delegation of Turkmenistan delivered the statement on several items on the agenda of the session, in particular "Data and indicators for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" and "National accounts".

The participants of the session were acquainted with the transformations in the national economy and the prospects for the development of the statistical sector of Turkmenistan, as well as the process of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level through the adoption of relevant indicators. In particular, the National Platform for the Implementation of the SDGs created in the country with the support of UNDP, the next Voluntary National Review on the implementation of the SDGs presented in 2023, as well as the ongoing process of updating the System of National Accounts were emphasized.

At the opening of the session, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Li Jinhua, noted the crucial role of data in measuring progress and accelerating action to achieve the SDGs, the symbolism of the adoption of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics 30 years ago, and the need to expand cooperation in innovative areas such as the development of big and publicly available data systems by modernizing statistical infrastructure.

Within the framework of the meetings, the main report of the UN Secretary-General on the review of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals was presented.

The report provides information on the work on the development of a database on global indicators, including a data and metadata repository, and on supporting countries to achieve indicators at the national level, as well as information on the work done by the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the session, the importance of the upcoming UN World Data Forum in November 2024 in Colombia was emphasized, within the framework of which, among other things, critical issues of multilateral cooperation in the field of statistics will be discussed.

At the end of the session, it was decided to hold the next 56th session of the Commission on March 4-7, 2025 in New York.