(5th Meeting) 56th Statistical Commission

Distinguished delegates, please take your seat.

Yes, but also the police. I'm working on the report on the first

Distinguished delegates, we're gonna start.

The 5th meeting of the 56th session of the Statistical Commission is called to order. Today will be a tough day because we have 12 items to talk. That means a maximum of 30 minutes, otherwise it will last longer than Friday and then you have to extend your flight tickets. So we started to do it like this that after 2 minutes, your microphone starts blinking, which means that you really should try— it's like a recommendation, maybe lesser than 2 minutes if that is possible. I'm fully aware specifically those country speaking on behalf of many countries need probably a bit longer. Okay, that's absolutely fine. A second thing what I suggest is if someone already have said what you also think, you can say I support this and that from the country and then you can send your full statement to eStatement as an email. That counts fully and we would save a lot time than saying the same thing 10 times. Okay, these are my two recommendations. First, try to be below 2 minutes. And if you hear that someone was saying anyway your position, you can just say that you support this. This is a bit the idea, hoping that we— at the end of this day, we have these 12 items, and then I'm confident that we'll— tomorrow there are the decisions and then also the information. That we can reach that, but really only if we stick to these recommendations. So I now invite the Commission to begin its consideration of agenda item 3E entitled Economic Statistics, under which the Commission has before it for discussion and decision the report of the Network of Economic Statisticians containing document E/CN.3/2025/12. Background documents are available on the Statistical Commission website. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Canada to introduce the report.

Thank you, Chair.

The Commission has before it the report of the United Nations Network of Economic Statisticians, which now has been active for 4 years. The report covers the network's activities over the last year. Including its completed sprints, the planned activities and deliverables of its work program for 2025.

The Commission is invited to express its views on the completion of the data strategy and housing sprints, and specifically new initiatives accompanying them, with the development of primer documents that capture the ideas expressed at the webinars and serve as foundational documentation for NSOs on these topics. Additionally, the AI and Data Science Sprint, which was co-organized by the Network, will contribute to the evolving playbook on integrating data science in the work of statistical offices.

The Network members are also eager to receive feedback on the work that the newly established Expert Group on Well-Being Measurement has completed to date in support of the objectives of the Secretary-General's Independent High-Level Expert Group. Additionally, in 2025, the network proposes to continue organizing events that provide opportunities to explore issues of interest to economic statisticians.

The network is currently planning sprints on the compilation of subnational statistics and a sprint that will identify solutions for NSOs to keep pace with the net-zero agenda.

In organizing this work, the network will coordinate with existing groups that, that that actively work in these spaces to leverage their work and avoid duplication. Any work towards development of proposals or implementation of ideas gathered by the Network will continue to be done in consultation and collaboration with existing international groups and committees whose mandates cover these topics or who have an interest in these subjects. To that effect, the Network has established a series of regular consultations with its members through quarterly meetings as well as other more formal or informal mechanisms to reach out to the wider statistical community.

The Commission is invited to approve the recommendations in the report, and we look forward to the considerations of the Commission. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, the distinguished representative of Canada. The Commission will now begin its debate on the report of the Network of Economic Statistics. I will do it like this. Always the third country, after the third country I close the list. That means we start now with Equatorial Guinea, then United Kingdom, then the Bahamas, and then I close the list. So I try to— that all— everyone who want to speak, that they press their button quite early, and then we see how many they are. So we start with the Equatorial Guinea distinguished delegate, and he also speaks on behalf of the African Group.

Thank you very much, Chairman. Equatorial Guinea, on behalf of the African Group, would like to commend the Network of Economic Statistics for the high quality of the report they have prepared and for the achievements of 2024. We believe that these achievements will be a milestone in the international statistical development, and they reflect an ongoing commitment to improving the quality, accessibility, and usefulness of data for evidence-based policymaking. Africa supports the organization of sprints for the assessment of net-zero emissions initiatives and their impact. We hope that that will lead to practical recommendations for national statistical offices in the objective and harmonized measurement of development. Africa takes note of and values the work on artificial intelligence. We believe that this is an unprecedented opportunity for innovation and modernization of our statistics. Because of that, we recommend to the network that they take a closer look at the use— at their use in processes of production, dissemination, and use of official statistics with concrete examples and guidelines to assist statistical offices in adopting these technologies. In terms of follow-up for use cases which have been defined in the context of SPRINT when it comes to access to data, Africa values the guidelines proposed by Statistics Netherlands. However, we recommend that they do not limit themselves to the context of developed countries, but also take into account the context and environment of less developed countries and regions so that they can be included too. Finally, Africa would recommend that starting in 2026, the expert group present its annual report directly to the commission, the statistical commission, rather than through the Network of Economic Statistics. Thank you.

To the distinguished delegate of the Ecuadorian Guinea, and I'll give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the United Kingdom.

Distinguished Chair, the UK strongly supports the work of the UN Network of Economic Statistics and endorses the proposed future work program network.

The UK encourages other countries to join the network and make use of the opportunities to collaborate it provides.

The UK also commends the network's model— working model of sprints and primers, which provide a rapid way to innovate and capture knowledge. As co-chair of the expert group on wellbeing measurement, I strongly support the recommendations relating to the expert group, including that it should report directly to this Commission. Measures of wellbeing inherently draw together economic, social, and environmental data, and it is far more appropriate for this work to report directly to this Commission rather than through a purely economic grouping. The UK applauds the network for establishing the expert group at pace and tabling these recommendations. I would like to applaud the collaborative efforts of all those who've participated in or partnered with the expert group, particularly the friends of the chair group for social and demographic statistics, whose work is seminal to allow synergies to be drawn between statistical domains.

The opportunity to build off the new SNA is also a huge opportunity in this area.

This year, the expert group will refine its work plan and use a task team model to gather expertise, recognising we need to draw on the knowledge of the whole statistical system and the many groups and networks which already exist. Whilst we await the announcement relating to the high-level expert group proposed by the Pact for the Future, the technical work outlined in the terms of reference of the expert group can and will continue to move forward so we can support the high-level expert group as best we can. I'd like to conclude by thanking my co-chair from United Arab Emirates and the staff from the UNSD who supported the successful launch of the expert group, and by once again encouraging countries to join the network, as that can only enhance the knowledge sharing that the network is designed to deliver.

Thank you.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of the United Kingdom. It looks like it really worked well with this 2 minutes. Thank you. So the next distinguished delegate will be the Bahamas, and after The Bahamas has spoken. I will close the list.

Good morning, Chair. Thank you. The Bahamas, on behalf of the CARICOM region, welcomes the report of the Network of Economic Statisticians and commends the network for the progress in 2024 and the innovative use of sprints as a cost-effective and inclusive working method, offering a platform for a diverse range of voices. Particularly for SIDS who sometimes struggle to be heard. We support the Network's focus on measuring net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide and addressing data gaps by establishing links with existing frameworks and standards, as these efforts will support CARICOM small island development states who already are facing challenges regarding measurement of the traditional streams of statistics now having to reflect these adaptations to ensure that economic measures remain up to date for our various countries. We strongly support the sprint on subnational economic statistics, crucial for CARICOM countries facing particular challenges in disaggregating economic statistics for disaster assessments and planning. We also call for greater engagement with the statistical community of our subregion to ensure CARICOM countries are included in global efforts to test, experiment and refine a central framework for inclusive and sustainable well-being. We applaud the continued consultations in 2025 and look forward to more capacity building, especially for small island developing states, to enable us to create well-being indicators that speaks to the sustainability and economic well-being of our communities in line with the SDGs. Finally, we support and endorse the work program of the expert group on well-being measurement and agree with the recommendations to submit annual reports directly to the Commission for discussion and decision beginning from 2026. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of the Bahamas. The list is now closed, and the distinguished delegate From Mexico is now.

Thank you, Chair. Mexico welcomes the progress achieved in the sprint organized by the network to strengthen statistical capacities, promoting collaboration and modernization. We support the approval of the 2025 program of work with the theme selected for development, especially on subnational economic statistics in accordance with available information. Mexico supports the work of the expert group on well-being measurement as we believe this is a strategic step forward towards the harmonization of the management of well-being which is inclusive and sustainable. Because of that, we support the proposal that the expert group report directly to the Commission, meaning that this group is technical and high-level in character and can therefore better contribute to the technical and intergovernmental processes agreed upon in the Summit of the Future for Well-Being Measurement. Measurement against the backdrop of sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda. Mexico requests that a minor amendment be made to paragraph 19 of the terms of reference of the expert group on well-being measurement because this year is 2025 and this will be the final year of the mandate of the group of friends of the chair on social and demographic statistics. Therefore, the reporting should be done in accordance with— should be done directly in conformity with the conceptual framework on demographic and social statistics. Thank you.

I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Guyana.

Thank you, Chair. Guyana supports the intervention of the Bahamas on behalf of the CARICOM region. Given the rapidly evolving landscape in some of our countries within the region over the past decade, we recognize that the International Framework for Housing Statistics will be crucial for advancing well-being. This framework, which identifies essential indicators and their interrelationships, is key to measuring and analyzing The factors influencing housing outcomes. With ongoing economic shifts, demographic changes, and increasing environmental pressures, the need for robust housing data has never been greater. We also emphasize the need for support to closely examine housing prices, both rental and ownership costs, in terms of levels and true price indices to better understand the affordability and accessibility of housing. In this regard, we urge the international community to support and actively engage with CARICOM on this important work, ensuring that small island developing states like ours are not only included in the development of this framework but also benefit from its application in creating sustainable housing and well-being indicators. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, the distinguished delegate of Guyana. And now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Malaysia.

Malaysia appreciates the work of the Network and its partners in improving data strategies through the Data Strategy Sprint. The challenges of managing growing data needing Reliable information and effective data management are in line with our goal to strengthen our statistical system. Malaysia welcomes the AI and Data Science for Economic Statistics Spring as important step in using advanced technology in statistics. The focus on AI like machine learning for GDP forecasting and automated data processing support Malaysia goal to modernize its economic statistics. Finally, Chair, on the compilation of subnational economic statistics, Malaysia endorses this initiative to bring together experts to share best practices and challenges in compiling economic statistics at the subnational level, supporting localized economic planning. Malaysia is transitioning from national-level reporting to more detailed granular data. This shift is exemplified by our recent publication of district-level GDP in November 2024. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of Malaysia. And I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Morocco.

Thank you, Chair.

Morocco takes note of the report of the Network of Economic Statisticians and comments the efforts made to modernize and strengthen economic statistics. We appreciate the Secretariat and expert groups for their dedication in advancing statistical methodologies in response to rapid economic and technological transformations. We would like to emphasize the importance of the ongoing thematic sprints. Particularly, Morocco supports the development of innovative strategies to harness large datasets. Administrative records, and new digital sources to improve the scope and responsiveness of economic indicators. We recognize the crucial role of housing and real estate statistics in understanding economic and social dynamics. Better integration of these data will enhance the assessment of real estate markets, urban development, and household economic well-being. Morocco endorses efforts to integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance economic data analysis, strengthen macroeconomic forecasting, and refine business cycle indicators. Finally, Morocco approves the proposed activities and objectives for the 2025 work program, emphasizing the need for enhanced international cooperation to share best practices and ensure the harmonized implementation of new methodologies. We affirm our commitment to continued collaboration with the Commission and expert groups to develop modern, accurate, and forward-looking economic statistics. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of Morocco. And I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the Maldives.

Thank you, Chair. Maldives is very happy with the progress that has been made by the Network and its prints, and we are glad to be able to contribute to the work of the Network as one of the co-chairs. We fully endorse the work program of the Network for 2025 and the proposed sprints and look forward to contribution and wider participation of countries, especially those from the Global South, in these sprints. We support the statement of Bahamas on the perspective of small island countries in terms of well-being measurement, importance of subnational statistics, and the aspects and challenges on environment and climate change issues in this Thank you very much.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of the Maldives. And now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of India.

Thank you, Chair.

India welcomes the initiatives taken by the Network of Economic Statisticians and looks forward to participating in the various deliberations of the network. There's just one point we would like to make and support regarding the compilation of the subnational statistics for the effective formulation of policies and at subnational and national levels. We have been compiling such subnational economic statistics like the gross state domestic product, employment, unemployment rate, etc. We would be happy and keen to participate in those sprints, especially for subnational statistics, as well as the other sprints going forward. Thank you.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of India. And now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the Republic of Korea.

Thank you, Chair. Republic of Korea supports the work plan of the expert group on well-being measurement and its approach of organizing task teams to advance its work. Like the opinions of many member states before me, it would be more appropriate for the expert group to report directly to the Statistical Commission rather than through the network. South Korea will actively participate reviewing the framework's applicability in Korea. However, to avoid the potential overlap with the well-being measurement efforts by the international organizations such as the OECD and UNECE, closer coordination could be necessary to clarify the scope and direction of the expert group's work.

Thank you. Thank you to the distinguished delegate of the Republic of Korea. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the OECD.

Thank you, Chair. I'm making the statement on behalf of the OECD, the IMF, Eurostat, and the World Bank. The OECD, IMF, Eurostat and the World Bank fully support the important work being undertaken by the expert group, in particular the supportive role they may play with regard to the much anticipated high-level group on Beyond GDP.

The new SNA 2025 just adopted by the Commission will also play an important contributing role in this Beyond GDP debate.

It will be very important that all of the stakeholders involved coordinate their activities and build on the previous work by those stakeholders to avoid duplication, fragmentation, and ensure coherence of message.

Therefore, concerning the question posed to the Commission on the future reporting mechanism of the expert group, the preference of the OECD, IMF, Eurostat, and World Bank, fully cognizant that the scope of the expert group is broader than its parent network, would be continued reporting of the expert group expert group via the Network of Economic Statisticians in order to improve coordination.

Thank you.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of the OECD. And now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of UN-Habitat.

Thank you, Chair. UN-Habitat welcomes the report of the Network of Economic Statisticians. And equally welcomes the leadership of UNSD on this specific work stream. Chair, today we know that close to about 1.2 billion people live in slums and informal settlements, and housing equally remains very much unaffordable to a greater majority of our citizens in cities but also in rural areas.. And we know that housing as a key sector of GDP also contributes enormously to the quality of life for many citizens. So UN-Habitat does welcome the work led by the Network of Economic Sociologists, particularly the integration of the component of housing and connecting that to the well-being of our citizens. UN-Habitat has contributed and worked very closely with all partners on this specific work stream, particularly the work on developing the housing primer, but also the contribution to the various housing sprints, for which there were quite a number of, uh, interesting but also commendable action points that need to be taken forward, particularly in the area of housing statistics and data in general. So we so therefore look forward to working with the Network of Economic Statisticians and the entire partners who are contributing to this work stream to make sure that we align it and harmonize it with the other existing frameworks that we're also equally contributing to within the family of statistics. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished delegated of UN-Habitat. We, as already were mentioning, the list was closed. If you still want to send something, then please do that electronically to eStatement. I give now the floor to Mr. Benson Sim, statistician at the Economic Statistics Branch of UNSD, to summarize our discussion.

Thank you, our Chair.

The Commission commended the network for successfully organising the Data Strategy Sprints, Housing Sprints, and the Artificial and Data Science for Economic Statistics Sprints, and establishing the Expert Group on Well-Being Measurement, or EGWM. Commended the network for preparing the Data Strategy Primer Framework and Best Practices for Developing a Data Strategy and Primer on Making the Case for an International Housing Statistics Framework, which will serve as useful foundational resources for statistical agencies undertaking work in these two areas. Welcome the progress of the work of the EGWM and its six task teams in preparing briefing notes which are relevant to the Secretary-General's High-Level Expert Group, endorsed in principle the terms of reference of the EGWM, and requested the Bureau of the EGWM to amend its ToR to remove paragraph 19 on the preparation of joint reports by the EGWM and the Friends of the Chair Group on Social and Demographic Statistics to the Commission. Endorsed the recommendation for the EGWM to directly report on the progress of its work annually to the Commission starting from 2026, requested the EGWM to collaborate and coordinate with relevant partners, including the Friends of the Checkroom on Social and Demographic Statistics, the network, National Accounts Community, and relevant international and regional organizations when developing the framework for inclusive and sustainable well-being. Approve the work program of the Network for 2026— sorry, 2025, covering in particular the sprints on measuring net zero initiatives and their impact and the compilation of subnational economic statistics. Yeah, thank you, Chair.

I thank Mr. Sim. The Commission has just concluded its discussion of Item 3e. We are good in time for the first item. There are 11 to go. If we continue like this, I'm confident that we can reach our goal. So I now invite the Commission to begin its consideration of agenda item 3j, entitled Environmental Economic Accounting, under which the Commission has before it for discussion and decision the report of the Committee of Experts Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting contained in document E/CN.3/2025/13. Background documents are available on the Statistical Commission's website. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Canada to introduce the report.

Thank you again, Chair. It is my pleasure to introduce the report of the Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting.

This report elaborates the Committee's main activities over the past year.

Here I would like to highlight a few key elements of the report.

Given the Commission's endorsement of the update of the CIA Central Framework and its response to, uh, to its requests at the 55th session, the Committee is submitting for the Commission's endorsement the list of issues for consideration in the update and the details on the proposed update process and governance. The list of 29 issues was carefully prepared by the Committee, considering their policy and conceptual relevance and their complexity, and is the result of a wide consultative process that included a global consultation. The update process is being carried out under the auspices of the Committee and will be closely coordinated with the revision processes of COFOG, GFS to ensure consistency across these statistical frameworks.

I would like to thank Eurostat and the IMF for their commitment to providing funding for the update process and in-kind contributions of many statistical offices and international organizations.

The committee is also submitting for the committee's endorsement an updated mandate and governance, which more closely reflects the work and priorities of the committee and and includes elements for improving its efficiency and effectiveness. The report covers several other aspects of the Committee's work, ranging from the development of global databases, the implementation of SEEA, to its continued engagement in mainstreaming the SEEA in the Global Biodiversity Framework, the circular economy, climate change initiatives, including the IMF's Data Gaps Initiative and sustainable tourism initiatives. It also covers activities to support the implementation of SEEA in countries, which is intended to continue as the SEEA Central framework is updated. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the strong collaboration with countries, international organizations, the UN regional commissions in the committee's activities. Environmental economic accounting is critical for understanding the integration of environmental and economic data and supporting more sustainable and informed policymaking at both national and international levels. The Commission is invited to express its views on the work program of the Committee and on the points for discussion in paragraph 17.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Canada, and the Commission will now begin its debate on the report of the Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting. I do it like last time, the first 3 countries, and then I close the list starting with Saudi Arabia, then Benin, then the Philippines. I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Saudi Arabia.

Thank you, Chairman. We welcome or take into consideration the on the Group of Experts on Environmental Economic Counting. We appreciate its scope and its important role in strengthening economic— environmental economic accounting. We also approve the general program of the working group and technical work of the committee, and we welcome the ongoing participation of the issues of biodiversity tourism, sustainable tourism and climate change as well as the circular economy. We are committed to stepping up sustainability. SEIA has carried out work on agriculture, water and land use published for the first time on the General Statistical Authority's website. We have also measured waste quantities and we particularly highlight the importance of ecological matters in supporting generally biodiversity. We appreciate the role of the committee in supporting us in these efforts and the efforts of the group of experts on economic— environmental economic accounting as mentioned in the report. Thank you.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of Saudi Arabia. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Benin. On behalf of the African Group.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Chair. On behalf of the African Group, with regard to the— we'd like to thank the Group on Environmental Economic Accounting for the report. Africa is rich in resources and is striving to attain the well-being of its population. The SEEA Therefore, aims to— should be promoted because its application is important but remains limited on the continent. We need to raise awareness of policymakers to obtain adequate financing. We hope that these needs will be taken into account by the working groups concerned. As for the issues raised in the report, we approved the program of work for updating the SCA Central Framework. Which will provide African countries with the opportunity to use environmental and economic data. In light of the rapid growth of African economies and the need to soundly manage their natural resources, this is a crucial tool to support sustainable development. We support the decision made during the 19th meeting of the Committee of Experts in June 2024 on updating the mandates and governance of the committee. We support the program of work of the technical committee and underscored the importance of SEA for circular economies, biodiversity, and sustainable tourism. The progress made in environmental and economic accounting are especially important for African countries, the most— most of which are rich in biodiversity. The incorporation of African ecosystems in a global database would facilitate reporting through international frameworks like the Kunming-Montréal Global Framework. African countries are committed to playing an important role in establishing special accounting for environmental services such as forests, savannas, and marine resources. There needs to be increased capacity in Africa, especially in countries where environmental accounting is still nascent. It is important as well to promote knowledge sharing. However, development of competencies is inadequate in light of the growing environmental challenges. We therefore need to mobilize financing to support national regional initiatives. We already are making efforts to support several African countries to measure progress in their transition toward a circular economy, but these efforts must be expanded with the support of the African Development Bank and the UN ECA, as well as other institutions. Lastly, Africa must be better represented in discussions of the London Group on— when it comes to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and natural capital accounting. Thank you.

Merci beaucoup.

Thank you very much.

On behalf of the African Group, I now give the floor to the Philippines, and after the Philippines have spoken, I will close the list.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Philippines expresses its appreciation to the Committee for its tireless efforts in updating the SEEA Central framework. We commend the committee's work in 2024, particularly the finalization of the list of issues. We eagerly anticipate the guidance notes and look forward to contributing to the global consultations to ensure the relevance of the central framework. We strongly support the engagement with stakeholders through global and regional forums alongside the collaboration with relevant expert groups. Furthermore, the Philippines commends the comprehensive approach adopted by the working groups and technical committees in their work programs, covering the development of guidelines and databases, user engagement, and capacity-building initiatives. The Philippines also concurs that revitalizing the CS focal point network is a crucial step in effectively addressing the committee's requirements and fostering collaborative efforts. The timely update of the SEAS Central Framework and the Committee's ongoing progress in this area are highly relevant to the Philippines as we actively endeavor to implement the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System, or PENCAS, which mandates the use of ecosystem and natural capital accounting in policy and decision-making. Aligned with the UN's initiative through the Project Environmental Economic Accounting for Evidence-Based Policy in Africa and Asia. The Philippines successfully released for the first time its Land Asset Accounts and the Economy-Wide Material Flow Accounts in December 2024. With this, the Philippines will continue its active participation in various international engagements especially in the capacity development activities towards the full implementation of natural capital accounting in the country. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of the Philippines. The list is now closed. We have a kind of impressive list of almost 20 countries and institutions who want to speak, so please take the chance if you want to say something that someone else has say beforehand already that you just say that you support this view so we can save time. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Laos People's Democratic Republic.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates. The Laos Bureau of Statistics appreciates the valuable work of the Committee of Experts and supports the endorsement of the work program. For updating the CA Centron framework and the revised mandate of the committee experts. The priority identified areas are highly relevant for Lao PDR as well as the needs of developing and small countries. We valued ongoing methodological development, particularly the creation of standardized questionnaires for ecosystem accounting data. We also appreciate the capacity Capacity Building Initiative, particularly with the support from the Government of Luxembourg, the Statistics Institute for Asia and Pacific, and the ESCAP, which have been crucial for advancing our ecosystem accounting efforts. Lao PDR commits to strengthen environmental statistics for sustainable development with the support of the Government of Luxembourg, STATAC, And the World Bank, we have made significant progress in institutionalizing environmental data. Since 2023, we have published materialized flow accounts, complete environmental taxes and land accounts, and assess the economic value of the forest and water ecosystem. Looking ahead, we are preparing the sectoral plan for the development of environmental and stability statistics from 2026 to 2030, which will be expanded environmental economic account, enhance data management, and strengthen the capacity development and policy integration. We also advancing the AFF accounts with Luxembourg support in collaboration with Indonesia BPS under the Asian Health Asian Framework. Through continued collaboration, we will ensure that high-quality statistics are produced and used to preserve our natural assets, paving the way for a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Lao People's Democratic Republic. And I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Australia.

Australia supports the proposed work program to update the SEA Central Framework.

We welcome the approach to prioritizing issues and consultation with the international community to ensure the issues for research are aligned with user needs.

Through the update process, we stress the need for three things.

An understanding of the sensitivity of methods, secondly, transparency of decisions, and thirdly, a continued focus on user needs.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Australia, and I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Finland.

Thank you, Chair. Finland appreciates the work done by the UNCEA. In particular, ensuring the consistency of SNA and SEEA is of utmost importance. Coordinating and harmonizing various measurement frameworks for economy and environment is essential for the effective implementation of the SEEA framework. Providing a comprehensive view that supports informed decision-making. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Finland. Now give the floor to distinguished representative of Bangladesh.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Bangladesh endorses the proposal of CA4 environmental economic accounting, and encourages ecosystem and tourism accounting as it recommends updating SEEA, focusing on biodiversity, climate change, sustainable tourism, and the circular economy for better climate statistics. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, as national statistics office, produces socioeconomic, health, and environmental statistics following global standards. It generates environmental data under SEEA framework. We conduct household and industry survey and develop natural resource accounts under SEEA covering land, water, forest, emissions, and greenhouse gases. We try to align data with global guidelines for SDGs, SINDAE framework, and Paris Agreement reporting. Following the UNSC recommendation, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics plan to adopt the updated SEEA for environmental and climate statistics. It plans to enhance environmental data, implement the poverty-environment nexus, and develop free crisis disaster data tools, and introducing greenhouse gas inventories, air emissions accounts, and Jandar Environment Service.

Given Bangladesh's geography and climate situation, the ecosystem and ocean accounts are essential for linking with the blue economy.

We propose accelerating development of methodologies for ocean accounts within the updated SIA framework.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, the distinguished delegate of Bangladesh. And I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of India.

Thank you, Chair. India is in favor of updating the SIA CF in line with revision of the SNA 2008 and other revisions of of classifications and updated mandate and governance of the committee. We would also like to mention that any additional requirement for data on matters related to climate change may not be agreed to by India, especially where UNFCCC has the primacy. Moreover, generating data on climate change would result in additional burden on the developing countries like India and will be counter-effective. NSO India takes note of the work on the circular economy. It is pertinent to mention that the concept of circularity associated with each of the proposed indicators for measuring the circular economy should be well reflected in the guidance document.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of India and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Belize.

Thank you, Chair. Belize, on behalf of the CARICOM region, welcomes the report of the Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting and commends the committee for its progress. We acknowledge the updates to classifications such as ICIC and CPC, which highlight environment-related activities and products crucial for our region, which is rich in environmental resources and biodiversity. We encourage that the SIA framework remain responsive to emerging demands, which will be vital for tackling regional challenges including climate change, disaster risk reduction, resource management, and creating green jobs. Moving beyond GDP, we also need alternative indicators of wealth and well-being. Despite global progress in advancing the SEEA framework, the CARICOM region is still not at the point of integrating economic and environmental data. Nonetheless, the successful implementation of SEEA ecosystem accounting in Montserrat, a CARICOM member state with a small NSO, demonstrates its potential in our region. A gradual, well-supported integration with a focus on training is essential, especially considering the importance of the environment for our region's economies and well-being. We fully support the Committee's work program under Area A and its efforts to mainstream the system of environmental economic accounting across key sectors such as biodiversity, climate change, and tourism sustainability,, all of which are highly relevant to CARICOM. Furthermore, given the central role of tourism in our economies, we also expressed a strong interest in piloting the statistical framework for measuring tourism sustainability. The CARICOM region is collaborating with UN DESA on the DA17-2528A project benefiting 4 Caribbean SIDS including Belize. This project aims to enhance capacities for monitoring maritime transport trade, fisheries, and GHG emissions using, using AIS data and other sources. Extending the support to more countries in CARICOM would be beneficial to SIDS, boosting our collective ability to address environmental challenges. Finally, Belize and other countries in CARICOM are interested in the use of AI to support environmental sustainability within the SEEA framework. This would help in addressing data gaps which hinder the production of relevant SEEA accounts. We reiterate the need for support to the strengthening of our framework of environmental statistics as a vital prerequisite to effective SEEA implementation in our region. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished representative of Belize. And I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Mongolia.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Distinguished delegates, we appreciate the efforts made by the Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting and we would like to endorse the work program for the update of SIA Central Framework. We approved the updated mandate and governance of the committee.

Mongolia appreciates the committee's involvement in the initiative to integrate Earth observations as the part of the implementation of the SIA ecosystem account.

Mongolia highly commends the efforts of the expert committee to promote the use of model-based estimates for compiling physical water accounts and other CR indicators, such as household, enterprise, and agriculture sector water use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, and developing its recommendations on their application.

In Mongolia, compiling certain accounts, such as those related to solid waste and physical water flow, remains challenging due to the limited reliability and the scope of available administrative data. To address these issues, we are working to develop robust methodologies for compiling SIA subaccounts with our regional partners.

Therefore, Mongolia encourages the Working Group to intensify its work on the use of model-based estimates for the other potential SIA accounts and develop practical guidelines to support their implementation.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Mongolia. Now I give the floor to distinguished delegate of Portugal.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Portugal endorses the work program for updating the system of environmental economic accounting central framework as it ensures a response to emerging demands. We also endorse the update mandate and governance of the Committee Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting, as it promotes coordination and collaboration with stakeholders, including national statistical offices and international organizations. Portugal welcomes the continued engagement of the Committee of Experts in circular economy, biodiversity, sustainable tourism, and climate change initiatives through the action of the Working Group on Coordination and Communication to promote the system's potential use in the development of these areas. While we agree with the promotion of the system to address different needs in these areas, we urge the Committee of Experts to establish guidance on its implementation and promote the sharing of good practices and country experiences. More specific comments on local experts will be sent by written. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the representative of Portugal. And I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Tajikistan.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Agency on Statistics of Tajikistan appreciates the efforts of the Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounts.

We also approve the updated mandate and governance structure of the committee. Tajikistan values the committee's involvement in the Data Gap Initiative, in particular to support closing data gaps relating to climate change and to promote the accounts. Environmental accounts plays a crucial role in tracking progress and assessing sustainable development goals in Tajikistan, as well as monitoring achievement of national development strategy. Tajikistan, in collaboration with its partners, has worked on producing environmental economic accounts, and it's continuing. Tashstat is actively collaborating with other relevant ministries to generate environmental indicators that will enhance the development of these accounts. Green economy is one of the prioritized ways and future development steps of Tajikistan. So we look forward to continued cooperation with relevant international organizations and national statistical offices to exchange best practices and apply them in this field. Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished representative of Tajikistan. I now give the floor to the Distinguished Representative of Sweden.

Thank you, Chair. Sweden extends its gratitude to the Committee of Experts for their commendable work in 2024. We recommend that the committee further contribute to the development of harmonized data methods for producing consumption-based indicators for environmental pressures. Specifically, we suggest that Area C focus on harmonizing global multi-regional input/output data, which are essential for creating comparable consumption-based indicators and statistics.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Sweden and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Brazil.

Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Chair, distinguished delegates. Brazil supports the response and plan of work for the update of the central framework on SIA. We believe that there needs to be a broad technical debate between official statistical entities and countries on the various matters which need to be updated in the SEEA Central Framework. We need to always hew to national statistical systems. Brazil is in agreement with the update and highlights the importance of ensuring further data on governance structures of the expert committee. And is in agreement with the working plan in terms of the strategies adopted by the expert committee. Similarly, Brazil thinks it's important to maintain our approach to the four thematic areas, namely biodiversity, climate change, measuring sustainability, tourism, and the circular economy. Broadening the debate between official statistical offices of countries and discussing possibilities about environmental accounts to assist in the collection of data and indicators in a collaborative fashion with the Data Gaps Initiative and its recommendations on climate change being helpful. Brazil also supports the efforts made to develop implementation notes with practical examples as well as the improvement and ongoing nature of questionnaires, priority areas such as atmospheric emissions, energy, material flows, land, and water. Lastly, Brazil supports the continuance of training and outreach efforts with workshops for the implementation of the SEEA in countries. We think it's important to maintain research from the London Group on Environmental Accounting and to consider how that interacts with the SEEA Central framework. Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished representative of Brazil and give now the floor to the distinguished representative of the Maldives.

Thank you, Chair. Maldives welcomes the report. And the excellent work in this important area. We highly appreciate the technical guidance and support provided by UNESCO to Maldives in the development of CR roadmap together with all stakeholder agencies. We have already piloted land accounts together with support from World Bank and are currently looking to scale up this work. We are working on developing the waste accounts focused on tourism industry with UNESCO. And we furthermore commend the work of CIAP on facilitated e-learning courses on the CR, which are very helpful for countries in capacity building. Sustainable tourism initiatives as well as climate change-related measurement are especially relevant to Maldives given our geography and the high dependence on tourism. We look forward to capacity building and welcome support with regard to implementing our CR roadmap. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, the distinguished delegate of the Maldives. And I give now the floor to the distinguished delegate of Italy.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Italy highlights the importance of referring to the system of environmental economic accounting, ecosystem accounting, also in relation to Recommendation 5 of the G20 Data Gaps Initiative. And suggests that the insights provided by the CEAEA be considered in the framework of physical risk assessment.

Italy reckons that more publicity should be given to the important work in supporting the implementation of the CEAEA and in developing guidance for the compilation of ecosystem accounting, and looks forward to the global consultation of the guidance being developed by the ad hoc technical committee. Finally, we would like to express appreciation for the work of London Group, in particular with regard to the increased attention to the methodological issues.

Thank you. I thank the representative of Italy and now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Azerbaijan.

Thank you, Chair, distinguished delegates. The Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan highly appreciates the report and supports the work program for the update of the CEA Central Framework, International Methodology and Standards on the Central Framework of the Ecological Economic Accounting System and Ecosystem Accounts, and continues its cooperation with the relevant institutions on a regular basis in order to expand its activities in this direction. Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan annually complies and publishes the environmental and economic accounting system, the energy account of the central framework. We have special portal in this field and portal reflects the initiatives to modernize and simplify the collection, exchange, and use the environmental data and information for the development and implementation on environmental policies. Important note that in 2024, Azerbaijan declared its year Green World Solidarity and successfully hosted COP29, one of the largest and most important intergovernmental events in the world. The adaptation of several important decisions at the 29th COP session in this field on combating climate change demonstrates Azerbaijan's active efforts to contribute to global environmental initiatives as well as its active fight against the consequences of climate change. In conclusion, we thank again expert group and we endorse and welcome the report submitted to the Commission. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Azerbaijan and I give the floor to distinguished delegate of China.

We agree to the program of work for the revision of the CIIA central framework and will continue to participate in the revision process. We agree to and support the new mandate and governance model of the Committee of Experts. We endorse the overall program work of various working groups and technical groups under the committee. With regard to supporting the implementation of the CIIA ecosystem accounting, we appreciate the work of the committee in expanding the implementation of the SEEA Ecosystem Accounting. To facilitate the implementation of this accounting framework in China, China's MBS has completed the Chinese translation of SEEA Ecosystem Accounting. We look forward to obtaining authorization by the Statistical Commission and officially publishing the Chinese version.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of China. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the OECD.

Thank you, Chair.

The OECD strongly supports the work program for the update of the SIA Central Framework.

The OECD will continue in kind— contribute in kind to the process by co-chairing one of the task teams and contributing to others.

It is important to align the update to the extent possible with the 2025 SNA and the accompanying National Resources Compilation Guide that the OECD will publish later this year. The OECD endorses the updated manual and governance of the Committee.

In particular, the OECD welcomes the formalization of the Steering Group. The appointment of a co-chair will greatly ease the workload and ensure continuity in case of succession. The OECD continues to chair the Working Group on the Development of Global Databases for the 5 priority areas. While significant progress has been made over the past years with air emissions, air emission accounts, energy accounts, and material flow accounts, the development of global databases for land and water accounts remains difficult despite their policy relevance. In 2024, several pilots were started, and the upcoming UNCEA meeting in June 2025 in Geneva will be an opportune moment to take stock and reassess the priorities for the near future.

Thank you. I thank the distinguished representative of the OECD and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the World Tourism Organization.

Thank you, Chair.

UN Tourism welcomes the report of the Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting and expresses its appreciation to the committee for the excellent collaboration over the years. UN Tourism looks forward to continuing its fruitful engagement with the UNSEA on sustainable tourism initiatives. In particular, with regards to supporting country implementation and capacity development initiatives, there is a good potential for reaping synergies between the SEA suite of products and the statistical framework for measuring the sustainability of tourism.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of the UN Tourism Organization, and now I give the floor to the Distinguished delegate of UNEP.

Thank you, Chair. UNEP underlines the importance of the system of environmental economic accounting for monitoring the triple planetary crisis on climate change, nature loss, and pollution and waste. We are grateful for the feedback provided by the technical committee of the CS Central Framework on the statistical guideline on measuring flows of plastic along the life cycle developed by UNITAR and UNEP in collaboration with other international agencies. We informed the Statistical Commission that we also held a global consultation in 2024 involving all UN member states and expect to publish the statistical guideline by June 2025. Thank you for your attention.

I thank the distinguished delegate of UNEP, and now I see no further requests for the floor. Invite Ms. Ilaria Di Matteo, Chief of the Environmental Economic Accounts section of the UNSD, to summarize our discussion.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The committee commended the work— sorry, the Commission commended the work of the committee and endorsed a list of issues and update process for the SEA Central Framework that include broad consultation, strong communication and user engagement, transparency, and coordination with the updates of other statistical standards to foster greater consistency. Express its appreciation for the support provided to the update of the SEEA-Central framework so far, in particular the financial support by Eurostat and IMF, and in-kind contribution by national statistical offices, international organizations, and individual experts, and encouraged a continued support during the update process. Approved the update updated mandate and governance of the Committee to better reflect the current activities and environment in which the Committee operates and make it more effective. Welcome and further encourage the work on mainstreaming the SEA in initiatives like Beyond GDP, circular economy, biodiversity, sustainable tourism, climate change, disaster risk Statistics, as well in the G20 Data Gap Initiative. Appreciated the work on the Committee in supporting the development of indicator in the monitoring framework of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework aligned with SCA and encouraged the development of practical guidelines to support national efforts. Noted the progress in developing global databases for the SCA priority area. And welcome the plan to reevaluate this area for the next 5-year period. Welcome the progress in the SEA implementation in countries and the revitalization of the SEA focal point network. Encourage the Committee to continue its effort to coordinate capacity-building activities to support countries to compile the SEA and in support also in support of the 2025 implementation, noting the close connection in particular on natural resource accounting. And also encourage countries to continue the implementation of the SEEA Central Framework under the current standard while the update process is ongoing. And finally, welcome the work of the work program of the London Group on environmental accounting and encourage the group to continue supporting the update of the SEI Central Framework in close coordination with the Committee and its Working Group. Thank you.

I thank Mr. Mrs. Ms. Di Matteo. The Commission has just concluded its discussion of Item 3J. I invite the Commission to begin its consideration of Agenda Item 3K entitled Business and Trade Statistics, under which the Commission has before it for the for discussion and decision, the report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics containing document E/CN.3/2025/14. Background documents are available on the Statistical Commission's website. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Mexico.

Gracias. Estimado señor presidente.

Distinguished Chair, the committee has before it the report of the expert committee on Business and Trade Statistics, which I'm pleased to present on behalf of Inegi, uh, the chair of the committee. The report details progress reached since the last Statistical Commission session and highlights key aspects of its strategic vision and new developments. During its 7th session of September 2024, the committee welcomed the progress of its task groups and plans for the next session. Further, it recognized progress made with the review of international trade handbooks, including Statistics on International Trade in Goods and the Handbook on International Trade in Services, as well as the finalization of the Handbook on Integration of Business and Trade Statistics. The Commission is invited to support this handbook given that it offers valuable perspectives on how to link specific data on business to data on international trade and other statistical fields. Additionally, the Committee highlighted the need to step up coordination and cooperation with other working groups at inter-institutional level and with other intergovernmental organizations in similar statistical environments to promote collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and best practices. Of the initiatives proposed by the committee, I'd like to highlight the development of a global online repository to share country practices and relevant documents on trade and business statistics. The possible development of a handbook also on business statistics. The development of a concept note on sustainability and well-being, aligning the committee's activities with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and with the Global Initiative on Unique Identifiers for businesses, or unique indicators rather. It was also highlighted that it's important to promote capacity building for the compilation of business and trade statistics, which includes exchange of practices among countries, development of capacity building materials, and organizing regional workshops in cooperation with key partners. I'd like to express my thanks to the leaders of the task groups and the members of the committee for their enthusiastic support in the undertaking of these activities and for pushing ahead with innovation and collaboration to reach our objectives as set out in the program of work, developing new and pertinent data for users and decision makers. Also, I'd like to thank the UN Statistics Division for all of their support to the committee. Thank you very much, Chairman.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Mexico. The Commission will now begin its debate on the report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics. I do it again like last time, after 3 countries I will close the list, starting with Somalia on behalf of the African Group, then Saudi Arabia, and then the Dominican Republic. Starting with Somalia, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Somalia, on behalf of the Africa Group, commends the Committee of Expertise on Business and Trade Statistics for its essential work. The significance of international trade statistics for national development and economic integration into global and regional value chains is emphasized, particularly in the context of African Continental Free Trade Area. It's by the production of international merchandise trade statistics by most African countries There is a notable deficiency in the regular production of trade-in-services statistics and underdevelopment in business statistics, indicating substantial gaps in statistical capacity. The Economic Commission for Africa has initiated projects to enhance trade statistics, including the development of the African Continental Input-Output Table and collaboration with COMESA on small-scale cross-border trade. ECA continues to encourage member states to adopt and implement the recommendations from the report to help them produce statistics on trade in services and business statistics in addition to international merchandise trade statistics. Master Chair, the Africa Group acknowledges the Committee's report and progress but highlighted the need to leverage AI for missioning informal cross-border trade. Additionally, the Africa Group underscores the necessity for enhanced technical and financial support to bolster statistical capacities across the continent, urging international partners and development agencies to prioritize capacity-building initiatives to enable African nations to fully utilize trade statistics for sustainable development and economic integration. We highly value the contribution of the Committee of Experts and fully endorse its proposed updated mandate. We look forward to continued collaboration and support in addressing the business and trade statistics challenges faced by African countries, ensuring that the region is better equipped to participate and benefit from global and regional trade dynamics.

Thank you, Chair. I thank the distinguished representative of Somalia. Now I give the floor to distinguished representative of Saudi Arabia.

Shukran sattar.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For the past 3 years, the General Statistics Authority has sought to reinforce trade and business statistics through the Survey on International Trade in Services, which is aligned with the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification. Our journey began in 2022 with a collection of statistics on trade and services where we focused on 12 core services. By 2023, the scope of the survey had been expanded to include all 132 classified services, including primary and secondary services. In 2024, the General Statistics Authority conducted the Comprehensive Economic Survey in two consecutive phases to ensure the highest level of quality and accuracy, as well as inclusive and comprehensive outcomes. In Phase 1, we identified all business facilities. Each facility was then visited to collect main identification data. This data was used to update the Statistical Business Register and strengthen the framework for specialized economic services. In Phase 2, the economic survey was applied to a sample from the statistical community. Survey questionnaires were completed, relevant data was collated, and the main statistical indicators were extracted to respond to the needs of decision makers and stakeholders. The outcomes of the Comprehensive Economic Survey in 2023 were as follows: gross operational revenue of of 5.3 trillion Saudi riyals, gross operational expenditure of 2.2 trillion Saudi riyals, and employee compensations estimated at 544.7 billion Saudi riyals, as well as a gross fixed capital formation of 867.8 billion Saudi riyals. As for our goals for 2025, we will disseminate the data on trade and services, and we will further seek the implementation of the digital economic survey identifying the contribution of the digital economy to GDP, and we will thereby publish the outcomes of the survey by the end of 2025. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Saudi Arabia. I now give the floor to distinguished delegate of Dominican Republic.

Gracias, señor.

Thank you very much, Chairman. The Dominican Republic would like to thank the expert committee for its report. We support the Handbook on Business and Trade Statistics because it provides a robust methodological framework to harmonize these statistics with other economic fields. Its approach to data integration allows us to improve the coherence and comparability of information, strengthening evidence-based policymaking. We also welcome progress made with the revision of the Handbook on Trade Statistics and the development of a second volume of the Handbook on Principal Indicators. These initiatives are vital for the updating of methodologies in a context of globalization and the digital transformation of trade. We support the initiative to develop a Handbook on Business Statistics because this would allow us to strengthen the measurement of business activity, including key dynamics such as digitalization, the integration of the gender perspective and the impact of MSMEs on the economy. We suggest that this handbook take into account case studies and practical guides to facilitate their implementation in developing countries. We support also the roadmap for the unique identifiers initiative because these will improve interoperability between administrative and statistical registries facilitating the linking of business data to these. We recommend establishing guidelines for their adoption in countries with different levels of institutional digital development. Similarly, we could contemplate concrete experiences of countries which have made progress with this harmonization. We welcome the progress made by the Committee and its task teams in the promotion of statistics on business and trade. We recommend that the 2025 Work program continued to prioritize the following: the strengthening of capacities in developing countries, promoting training and technical assistance, integrating new sources of data in statistical business registers, including macro data and geospatial analyses, an approach to subnational statistics to improve economic information at local authority level. We also reiterate our commitment to collaborating with the international community in developing more up-to-date and accurate statistics. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the Dominican Republic. The list is now closed. It's an impressive list, almost 20 countries. I now give the floor to distinguished delegate of Lebanon.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We strongly believe that the synergy between trade and business statistics should be emphasized, and we welcome the attention given to integrating these two domains. On another note, Central Administration of Statistics in Lebanon is highly interested in the emerging field of digital trade and is committed to making every effort to begin measuring this critical statistical area. Furthermore, the establishment of unique enterprise identifiers is crucial for enhancing data linkage and fostering a harmonized national statistical system. However, its successful implementation requires the involvement of the entire national statistical system, not just the statistical institute, which poses significant challenges. The proposed strategic roadmap offers valuable guidance on both legislative and technical aspects, making it a strong foundation for moving forward. Additionally, we would greatly appreciate further training sessions and webinars on the revised International Trade Statistics Manual and the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics, particularly for statisticians in our region. Incorporating a gender perspective into business and trade statistics is an important step toward promoting gender equality. However, this effort requires appropriate tools and methodologies that should be adopted across all relevant institutions, not only the statistical institute. We also emphasize the importance of capacity development in strengthening the national statistical system's ability to compile high-quality business and trade statistics. Despite the critical role of these two areas, Central Administration of Statistics in Lebanon faces a major constraint: the lack of funding for economic surveys. Therefore, the support of UN organizations in financing economic surveys and capacity-building initiatives is essential for meaningful advancement in these statistical domains. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Lebanon and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the State of Palestine.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We wish to make the statement on behalf of the Arab Group. We highlight the importance of adopting the manual on the integration of of Business and Trade Statistics because this manual is of utmost importance for this integration as it includes indicators to respond to the different policy needs to facilitate the understanding of foreign trade statistics. We also commend the efforts made to update the manual on international trade in services and goods especially since various topics were identified, including the illegal traffic in goods, as well as the identification or the interpretation of metadata, in addition to procurement statistics, as well as the impact of trade on sustainability. The— our group also wishes to stress the importance of a handbook on business statistics to respond to rising needs in this sector. There is a dire need to identify priorities and needs to establish such a handbook. We also stress the importance of the strategic roadmap for the Global Initiative on Unique Identifiers for Businesses as it takes an important role in identifying, identifying current circumstances and states that face various obstacles in the collection of statistics to pave the way for a world where transparency prevails for businesses to ensure the ease of doing business and economic growth. In conclusion, the Arab Group commends the efforts made by the committee and its various task forces, as these efforts have led to progress and the collection of statistics and trade and the integration of business and trade statistics. This has allowed us to discuss priority areas and topics. We stress that the State of Palestine has partaken in the efforts made by various task teams to develop the relevant manuals. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Palestine. Now the time is 11:35, and I suppose to suspend the meeting at this point for a short break of 5 minutes to enable informal consultation among delegates. The first country is Finland, whose has to speak or given the floor after the break, so it's in 5 minutes, and then Guyena, I hope you are back in 5 minutes. The meeting is suspended. Distinguished delegate, please take your seat. The meeting is resumed. We continue. And now I give the floor to distinguished representative of Finland. Please be silent.

Thank you, Chair. Finland wants to express its continued support for the global initiative on unique identifiers for businesses and thank the Commission for its progress in promoting this important work with the strategic roadmap. As said by our colleague from Dominican Republic already, There are many potential benefits as the global framework for Unique Business Identifiers would ensure accurate data integration and support a more holistic approach for business statistics. In the third phase of the roadmap, implementation and integration, the focus is on integrating Unique Business Identifiers into national systems and encouraging the mapping of national Unique Business Identifiers identifiers to global ones, such as the Global Legal Entity Identifier System. We fully support this initiative. To promote widespread adoption, we strongly encourage a common, robust, and affordable approach by the Statistical Commission that would enable SMEs also to become users of the global unique identifiers. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Finland. Now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Guyana.

Thank you, Chair. Guyana, on behalf of CARICOM members, extends appreciation to the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics for their comprehensive report and commend the significant progress achieved in this area. We endorse the Handbook on Integrating Business and Trade Statistics. This resource is poised to become instrumental within our national statistical systems, facilitating the harmonization and integration of business and trade across the CARICOM region. We commend the task team for their efforts in revising and updating methods and guidelines. Including International Merchandise Trade Statistics Concepts and Definition 2010 and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010. These updates are vital for ensuring that our statistical practices are relevant and reflective of global changes. We are also keenly interested in training materials and capacity building programs to be developed following the adoption of methods and standards on business and trade statistics. CARICOM acknowledged the value of the new trade data tool being developed as an upgrade to Eurotrace, which is widely used across our region. We support the adoption of this tool and wish to express our interest in participating in its pilot test testing phase. This new system will give us an opportunity to enhance trade data processing, improve analytical capabilities, and modernize trade reporting mechanisms. We commend the progress of work done on the development of a strategic roadmap for the Global Initiative on Unique Identifiers for Business, which are integral to the creation and maintenance of a comprehensive Statistical Business Register. It is imperative that we address the challenges faced by Small Island Developing States, especially in the CARICOM region, where resources and technical capacities are limited and can impede the effective implementation of these initiatives in our region. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the distinguished representative of Guyana and now give the floor to distinguished representative of Denmark.

Thank you very much, Chairman, and thank you to Mexico and the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics for the useful report and its important content and recommendations. When I left Copenhagen last Sunday, I did not plan to make an intervention on this item, but during this week the environment for international trade has changed significantly by the day with potential dramatic effects on international trade. Within the area of business and trade statistics, we find it especially important for the statistical community to look into this and follow it closely and prioritize and further develop in 5 areas. Firstly, with regard to the linking of business and trade statistics. Already now, this linking enables very valuable insights in business and trade patterns, and it will only be more important in the light of the current political environment where we need to analyze effects on the enterprises and jobs from a conflict on tariffs and other trade barriers. Also, as everyone in this room know, the current political debate about international trade and investment is distorted affected grossly by misleading and false information. And it's actually in an area where we do have good and detailed statistics. Furthermore, this linking of business and trade data will better enable us to shed light on the increasing concentration of economic activities in a limited number of very big global enterprises.

Secondly, this data linking should then be extended so that business and trade data is also linked with social statistics data via the so-called LIT databases, that is linked employer-employee databases. This will be necessary, for instance, to shed light on the social consequences for families who lose their jobs or their businesses due to the effects of a conflict on tariffs or other trade barriers.

Thirdly, with regard to the global value chains. Following 3 decades of increasing economic globalization and globalization of enterprise groups, we now see signs of a regionalization of value chains and home sourcing of business functions from overseas to domestic economies.

In this context, we should consider proportional ways, for instance, to shed more light on trade and investment activities in enterprises' foreign affiliates. Fourthly, the combination of survey data with data from administrative, and other central data sources. This will enable us to reap the opportunities of digitalisation and provide new insights and much more detailed and integrated statistical information systems to our users. Finally, I would like to mention that we need to minimise and hopefully also reduce the reporting burden on the enterprises. In this context, This should be of course balanced against the user needs and we should look into exploiting new sources for data stemming from e-invoicing and automated business reporting, for instance to tax and business authorities. Thank you very much, Chairman.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Denmark. Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of India.

Thank you, Chair. India endorses the endeavors of the UN Committee on Experts on Business and Trade Statistics.

And all its large teams. There is only one issue we have. While we appreciate the effort in bringing out the Handbook on Integrating Business and Trade Statistics, however, the HIBTS does not consider informal trade and trade carried out by households, which is a large segment in many countries including India. It is suggested that the HIBTS considers the informal and household trade also. As this is common in many countries. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of India. Now we have to float the distinguished delegate of Australia.

Sorry, Chair, I thought you said Austria.

But this is the country with the kangaroos.

Australia welcomes the report of the experts on business and trade statistics and endorses the Handbook on Integrating Business and Trade Statistics.

We also welcome the conceptual and methodological frameworks provided in it.

We will use international best practice and guidance in the manual to enhance the way trade data is integrated into our linked business data asset. Australia also supports and appreciates the progress made in the revisions of the trade statistics manuals.

Australia has been heavily involved through our role as chief editors of the International Merchandise Trade Statistics Manual, and we have observed firsthand the high level of international collaboration across task teams.

We particularly note the efforts to maintain coordination and consistency between the Business and Trade Statistics manuals and with the broader suite of macroeconomic statistic manual updates, primarily BPM7 and, and SNA25. Australia supports the updates and clarifications proposed for the revised manuals and welcomes the new topics which acknowledge the interlinkages of trade with globalization and digitalization and the broader impact of trade on the environment employment and well-being.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Australia. The nice country is the kangaroos. And I give now the floor to distinguished delegate of Mongolia.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We support the adoption of Manual for Integration of Business and Trade Statistics.

Mongolia welcomes the updates to the International Merchandise Trade Statistics 2010.

Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010 and the development of Volume 2 of the Handbook on Core Business and Trade Statistics.

Mongolia commends the global initiative on the use of unique identifiers for businesses.

Since 1998, Mongolia has implemented the Business Register and Identification System, which assigns unique identification numbers to legal entities. Furthermore, since 2013, we have implemented a program that assigns distinct statistical unit codes based on business activity and location. Mongolia appreciates the report of the Expert Group on Business and Trade Statistics and supports the progress made by the Integrated Working Group on Business Registers, which aims to strengthen business register systems and capacity. We also endorsed the establishment of a platform for countries to share experiences on business registers. Mongolia is ready to contribute and exchange experiences according to the work plan of the Integrated Working Group.

We conducted an establishment census in 2021 in which for the first time the combination of administrative and web-based surveys were applied and registry self-employed were developed.

And we are ready to participate in the International Comprehensive Assessment of the Statistical Business Registers.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Mongolia. Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Timor-Leste.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Timor-Leste welcomes the report of the Committee of the Experts on Business and Trade Statistics. Timor-Leste successfully organized the first trade data compiler in 2000. Since then, the National Institute of Statistics has been working closely with the customs authority through the SICUDA system. The National Institute of Statistics compiles and publishes trade activity data on a monthly and annual basis, and the data are accessible on the official statistics website. Timor-Leste export commodities include oil, gas, coffee, and konjac, vanilla, and remittances from the Timorese people working abroad. Manual import data is collected from all countries exporting goods to Timor-Leste. Currently, the Statistics Institute captures trade data electronically through the ASIKUDA World System, which facilitates the efficient collection and dissemination of trade statistics. Looking forward, the National Institute of Statistics of Timor-Leste works together with the assistance from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, to further enhance trade data quality and statistical development in the future. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Timor-Leste and I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Spain.

Muchas gracias.

Thank you very much, Chairman. Spain would like to thank all of the work done in the field of business statistics. We agree with the proposals made. We think it's very important to develop a manual on business statistics against the backdrop of global economy, where there's the predomination of large businesses. We believe that there needs to be a rigorous look at how users and producers use data so that this can be used. We think it's particularly important to have harmonized application of the notion of business so that its statistical description in each national economy can be compared with common standards We also believe that we should lay greater stress on different ways of measuring and analyzing business data, establishing businesses and groups, and looking at how they link to macroeconomics for national accounts. We also think it's very important to implement unique identifiers for businesses at global level to improve the quality of business data. We support the work undertaken in this direction and believe it's important that we find ways and means of facilitating access to this initiative for SMEs. Thank you.

Thank you to the distinguished representative of Spain. And now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Kyrgyzstan.

Thank you, Chair.

Kyrgyzstan has examined the material presented and heard the report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics. We welcome the report and are very pleased with the efforts of the experts to improve integration of business and trade statistics, as well as the completion of the work on the handbook on integrating business and trade statistics, as well as the second volume of the Manual on Statistics on International Trade and Services, as well as the development of new international statistical qualifications, which ought to be based on trade statistics. We also support the work of the group of experts on updating the International Trade in Services Manual update and the 2026 new publication that is scheduled. And we hope that these updated materials will help us to resolve important issues linked to ongoing changes in global trade and improved methodology and data collection and analysis. To make them easier to use. We also support the task team on international business trade to take into account best practices of countries and to develop recommendations, taking into account data sources, data collection methodology, as well as developments in e-commerce and assessment of the value of new volumes in e-commerce. We support the work of the Committee for 2026 as well as the multi-year program of work of the Statistical Committee for 2024-2025. Statistics on tourism as well as on ICT are all very important. We would like to inform you all that Kyrgyzstan regularly collects international statistics on business and trade and also collect statistics on e-commerce and works on the methodology of this data collection. However, for Kyrgyzstan, the issue of learning from best practices of other countries is still a very pertinent one. Thank you very much, Chair.

Thank you to the representative of Kyrgyzstan. And I give the floor to the representative of Germany.

Yes, thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I can make it very, very short because I fully agree with Finland and Denmark.

I just want to add that a lay would be a starting point from our point of view for the further consideration, provided it were made available free of charge to everyone. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Great. Thank you to the distinguished delegate of Germany. I give now the floor to the distinguished delegate of Singapore.

Thank you, Chair.

Singapore would like to commend the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics on providing a strategic direction to advance business and trade statistics. We appreciate the significant work undertaken by the Committee and its task teams over the last year. We support the UNSC's endorsement of the Handbook on Integrating Business and Trade Statistics.

We also welcome the progress made in the revision of the manuals on trade in goods and services statistics.

We look forward to their completion and the relevant methodological guidance. We support the proposal for a Handbook on Business Statistics to address emerging needs. We also welcome the various task teams to look into emerging issues such as measuring entrepreneurship,: best practices for measuring e-commerce, artificial intelligence and automation, and on measuring globalization. We look for opportunities for close collaboration on these work streams. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the representative of Singapore and now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Slovenia.

Thank you, Chair. Slovenia wants to express support to the global initiative on unique identifiers for businesses and to thank the committee for the progress in promoting this important work with the strategic roadmap. Slovenia aligns with the statements of Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Dominican Republic on legal entity identifiers and would like to express our concern regarding the costs associated with this implementation. We support the continued search for solutions on the domain of unique identifiers, and we encourage further discussions while ensuring assuring that any potential changes do not impose additional burdens on member states and that they are aligned with the broader objectives of a unified statistical framework.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Slovenia. This was the list that we were agreed on when I was saying we're closing the list. If you have more information, please send it electronically to eStatement. I now invite Mr. Julian Cho, Chief of the Business Statistics Section of UNSD, to summarize our discussion on this item.

Thank you, Chair.

The Commission welcomes the report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, expresses appreciation for the work carried out by the committee and its task team in advancing business and trade statistics, as well as progress in strengthening coordination with interagency working groups. Endorse the Handbook on Integrating Business and Trade Statistics as the international recommendation for integrating business statistics with international trade statistics on goods and services. Welcome its implementation strategy and stress the importance of capacity development to support Member States in linking business and trade statistics. Requested further to explore possibility of linking the business and trade to household. Took note of the expected update of the International Merchandise Trade Statistics 2026 and the Manual on Statistics on International Trade in Services 2026 as outlined in the report and its background documents. Expressed its appreciation for and took note of the progress in the drafting of the second volume of the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics. Welcome to progress and requested the Committee to develop the Handbook of Business Statistics. Supported the business case and usefulness of developing such handbook, noting the need for concerted efforts, dedicated resources, and prioritization. Expressed its appreciation for and supported the strategic roadmap for the Global Initiative on Unique Identifier for Business, noting the need to consider the cost implications. Welcome the development of a centralized global public repository for business and trade statistics. Request the provision of technical assistance to Member States for the compilation of business and trade statistics. And appreciate the development of trade data tools. Thank you so much, Chair.

I thank Mr. Cho. The Commission has just concluded its discussion of Item 3 I now invite the Commission to begin its consideration of item 3.l entitled price statistics, under which the Commission has before it for discussion and decision the report of the Intersectoral Working Group on price statistics contained in document E/CN.3/2025/15. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of the International Labour Organization to introduce the report on behalf of the Intersecretarial Working Group on Price Statistics.

Thank you, Chair. It is an honor for the ILO to introduce the report of the Intersecretariat Working Group on Price Statistics.

This report underscores the Intersecretarial Working Group on Price Statistics unwavering commitment to advancing the Global Statistical Framework for Price Statistics.

Since its establishment in 1998, the group has served as a collaborative platform bringing together leading international organizations: Eurostat, the International Labour Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Group and the World Bank.

Under the current chairmanship of the ILO, the group continues to address emerging challenges, enhance international standards, and foster coordination in price statistics. The report provides a detailed account of the group's progress since its last submission to the Commission in 2022.

Key highlights include the advancements in international standards and methodologies, such as the implementation of the classification for an individual consumption according to purpose, COICOP, and progress on integrating alternative data sources like scanner data. Collaborative initiatives with the World Bank Group and the UNCEVD task team aimed at improving data quality and methodological consistency.

Improvements in the collection and dissemination of price indexes and residential property price data.

The annex to the report contains the proposed updated terms of reference, which aim at modernizing the Inter-Working Group on Price Statistics framework, ensuring its continuous effectiveness as a platform for advancing price statistics globally, and reinforcing its critical coordinating role. The Commissioner is invited to comment on the work of the of the group and to endorse the proposed updated terms of reference. We welcome your thoughtful comments and guidance on this report and its recommendations. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the ILO for that report, and now we start with the debate. We still further fallen behind schedule, so please try to be as quick as possible Again, 3 countries and then I close the list, starting with Lebanon, then the Republic of Korea and Bahrain, and closing the list. The floor is to the distinguished delegate of Lebanon.

Thank you. Lebanon appreciates the valuable work undertaken by the Intersecretariat Working Group on Price Statistics. Statistics, particularly its efforts in updating international methodologies, classifications, and best practices. The group's work is essential in supporting member countries in modernizing their consumer price index and ensuring international comparability. In Lebanon, we plan to update the classification in our next household budget survey, along with revising the expenditure to better reflect current consumption patterns. Lebanon welcomes the Working Group's efforts to develop and update manuals and handbooks on price statistics. Providing practical guidance on new data sources, collection methods, and quality adjustments will help Lebanon enhance the accuracy and efficiency of their CPI. These resources will be particularly valuable for Lebanon as we work towards updating our COICOP classification and modernizing CPI production. Additionally, the group's focus on big data, scanner data, and alternative sources aligns with our goal of modernizing CPI data collection. Lebanon welcomes the Working Group's efforts to develop and update manuals and handbooks on price statistics, the provision of practical guidance on new data sources, —collection methods and quality adjustments will significantly contribute to enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of Lebanon's consumer price index. Additionally, the group's focus on big data, scanner, and alternative sources. We also acknowledge the ongoing coordination between the working group member organization and supporting member countries. Lebanon has maintained continuous collaboration with the IMF on CPI production, particularly during critical periods such as the recent war and the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring methodological robustness despite operational challenges. We strongly support the updated terms of reference of the Working Group and encourage further capacity-building initiatives, technical support, and knowledge sharing. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of Lebanon. And I give the floor to distinguished delegate of the Republic of Korea.

Thank you, Chair. Republic of Korea fully supports the Intersecretariat Working Group on Price Statistics in developing guidance for KOICOP 2018 implementation and expanding the use of big data in CPI. Statistics Korea actively work on implementing KOICOP 2013 2018, revising CPI item classifications and linking historical data series. These updates will be reflected in the 2025 base year revision. Additionally, we are conducting in-depth research on using web scraped and administrative data for officer price statistics. However, for scanner data, high costs remain a major barrier to collecting them. Hence, when working group develops future guidelines, we hope It looks into the issues like legal and institutional frameworks for data collection and ways to minimize the cost. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the Republic of Korea. Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Bahrain.

Shukran, Sayyidi Raees. Thank you, Chair. The Kingdom of Bahrain as well as The member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council support the work carried out by the Secretariat Working Group on price statistics to modernize standards and methodology, as well as training and the collection of allocation of price indicators. We support updating the mandate of the group so it can better cover all of the aspects of this working group's work. We support coordination between this group and the various other working groups on metadata. The relevant authority in Bahrain has made use of data and statistics to collect price indicators, especially on household consumption, as a part of its international comparison program. We also have established a database allowing us to collect information on prices to guarantee international comparability and to make it easier over the next few sessions. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Bahrain and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Gambia on behalf of the African Group. And please remind the list is now closed.

Thank you very much.

The Gambia, on behalf of the African Group, commends the work of the Intersectorial Working Group on Price Statistics and thank the group for its report. In the African context, inflation rates remain significantly high in many countries generating anxiety among price statisticians.

The premise of good statistics for better life seems compromised in such cases where good price statistics are not necessarily being followed by improved conditions price-wise. One would wonder where the missing link is.

Is it encouraging that this interrogation, the working group tasked itself with supporting the development of framework for price statistics that explains the link Links among the various price indices and between price indices and other relevant economic and labor statistics will help realize the aspiration to make statistics contribute to a better life. We also welcome the operational principle for manuals and handbooks to be developed by the Working Group, proposed to be used by developed, emerging, and developing countries. Countries. To conclude, we endorse the proposed updated terms of reference of the Intersectorial Working Group on price analysis and request the full alignment of its work program with these terms.

I thank you, Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Gambia. Now I give the floor to distinguished delegate of Jamaica.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chair. Our comments were submitted via the platform, so I will just summarize in the interest of time. Just to note that these comments are being delivered on behalf of Jamaica and the CARICOM member states. So with regards to the Consumer Price Index Theory Manual, we look forward to the development of tools to accompany the manual to facilitate its adoption within NSOs. On the matter of the correspondence tables between COICOP and COICOP 2018 and COICOP 1999, we urge the group of experts under the steering group, the ECE steering group on the CPI, to quickly develop the proposed guide and recommend methods and best practices when changing the classification of goods and services in the CPI. Regarding the IMF's work on developing the online platform for compiling residential property price index indices. On behalf of CARICOM member states, we recommend that priority be given to the NSOs in developing countries, especially those in small island developing states where key short-term indicators are not readily available. We want to also indicate our support for the updated terms of reference and urge continued support for developing countries, especially SIDS, for the ICP. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Jamaica, and now come The, the Stingy Stargate of India.

Thank you, Chair. India endorses the activities of the Intersecretariat Working Group on Price Statistics.

However, there are certain procedures and practices outlined in international manuals, especially the Consumer Price Index Manual, which do not align with some of the economic policies of some countries including India, and I'll just give one illustration.

India implements the National Food Security Act which ensures monthly distribution of food grains to vulnerable citizens.

The treatment of free social transfers, especially of goods, in the CPI compilation needs to be deliberated upon under the light of such massive social welfare schemes implemented by governments of many countries across the world.

Across the globe. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of India. Now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Ukraine.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ukraine appreciates the Working Group on Price Statistics for their comprehensive report and welcomes the progress of advancing methodologies for price measurement. In 2024, Ukraine launched an experimental project utilizing data from State Tax Services of Ukraine. We are exploring the use of digitally registered receipts from all transactions conducted through point-of-sale terminals as an alternative to traditional CPI data collection methods. This work is being conducted in close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, whose support has been extremely helpful. We believe our experience could contribute to international discussion on modernizing price statistics methodology. Technologies. Ukraine supports the proposed update term of reference. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Ukraine, and I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Nepal.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. We observed that the data quality matrix has been improved in the 2021 cycle, reaching over even exceeding levels from the 2017 cycle. Data validation has been strengthened through comprehensive regional workshops and webinars. The use of computer-assisted personal interview tools and the big data techniques has contributed to enhancing data accuracy and reliability. Developing specialized training modules targeting complex areas like housing, purchasing power parity, and productivity adjustment and address persistent capacity gaps. Gaps. More efforts should be directed towards creating long-term capacity-building programs, reducing reliance on periodic workshops and external support. There, there is a growing emphasis on integrating ICP process into regular national statistical work, particularly with CPI.

This helps build sustainable statistical capacities and reduce dependency on external technical support. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Nepal. Now give the floor to distinguished delegate of Finland.

Thank you, Chair. Firstly, Finland would like to thank for the report and all the work done in the field of price statistics. Especially the CPI theory manual is most welcomed. All these manuals Price models are very useful and valuable in our everyday work. I know that from my past experience in price statistics, so talking about my darling here. The issue I wanted to say more concerns owner-occupied housing. In price statistics, measuring of the real estate prices is one of the most challenging tasks. We in Statistics Finland have participated to the methodological development work for decades. But when we talk about cost of owner-occupiers in the CPI, we are facing not only methodological but also principal questions. We have discussed on this in the European Union for quite some time, and in these discussion— discussions, Finland has expressed that when deciding which methodology to apply in each country, one should always keep in mind that the situation between countries varies, and thus one methodology methodology does not fit all. If the owner-occupied housing markets and rental markets differ from each other, then the development of rents cannot be seen as reliable estimate for development of prices of owner-occupied housing. So from our perspective, the methodology used should always reflect the characteristics of the market. So the methodological decisions should be made by the national statistical offices after discussions with key users, of course. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Finland and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Vietnam.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The price statistic information system currently compiled by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam includes statistics on consumer prices producer prices, export and import prices. Consumer prices and producer prices are collected from static or survey using electronic survey forms, mostly via smart mobile electronic devices and web forms. By applying electronic survey forms and promoting the application of information technology in data processing and cleaning, Vietnam has been able to publish the official results of monthly consumer price surveys. Export and import prices are compiled using administrative records that are from the General Department of Customs. Producer Price Index, Export and Import Price Indices are published by— published quarterly. In order for the data on own-ties— a price indices to accurately reflect price fluctuations to serve for the analysis of macroeconomic activities and be comparable with other countries in the region and the world. The price statistical methodology in Vietnam is basically complied with the guidelines and recommendation of the United Nations The General Statistics Office of Vietnam is doing a research on the compilation of the residential property price index and construction price index, so we request support to improve capacity. Firstly, research on the application of methodology to compile residential property price index and construction price index Secondly, research on the application of different methods and techniques for data collection using administrative data sources from tax data as information sources for compiling residential property price index. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished delegate of Vietnam. I see no further request for the floor and now invite Mr. Herman Simon Smith, Chief of the National Accounts Section of the UNSD, to summarize our discussion.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Commission welcomed the report of the Working Group on Price Statistics and expressed its appreciation for the activities undertaken by the group related to maintaining the price statistics compilation manuals, the international collection of price data, the technical support that are being provided to countries, and the various meetings and conferences, and endorsed its program of work, requested the Working the group to consider also national practices when developing compilation guidance for price statistics, endorsed the updated terms of reference of the group.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank Mr. Smith. The Commission has just concluded its discussion of item 3A. I now invite the Commission to begin its consideration of agenda item 3M entitled Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics, under which the Commission has before it for discussion and decision the joint report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Organization for Migration and on crime statistics, contained in document E/CN.3/2015. 2025/16. Background documents are available on the Statistical Commission's website. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to introduce the report.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On behalf of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, and the International Organization for Migration, IOM, it is my pleasure to present to the Commission the International Classification for Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons IC-TIP, for review and possible approval. The new classification responds to the call made by the General Assembly in 2023, encouraging member states to provide internationally standardized data on patterns, flows, and forms of trafficking in persons, building on the International Classification of Crime for statistical purposes. The new classification was developed through a wide consulted collaborative process. 80 experts and practitioners from 16 countries from all regions contributed to develop the first draft. That was then the subject of a global consultation involving national statistical offices, other national institutions, and international organizations. 38 member states and 3 international organizations participated in this consultation, and the draft presented now incorporates incorporates all feedback received. The Commission's guidance and support are sought for the following: 1, endorsing the ICTIP as the standard international classification for administrative statistics on trafficking in persons; 2, endorsing the related implementation plan, including capacity-building initiatives developed in partnership with national statistical offices and other key stakeholders; 3, appointing UNODC and IOM as custodians of the ICTIP, ensuring its continued development in alignment with emerging trends. And 4, providing feedback on additional tools and resources that can support national statistical offices in implementing the ICTIP and improving crime statistics more broadly. With the endorsement of the classification as a global statistical standard, the evidence base for understanding and combating the complexity of trafficking in persons will be enhanced. To conclude, let me emphasize our commitment to support training activities for NSOs to adopt the classification, to strengthen national data systems, and foster international comparability of trafficking in persons statistics, making crime and criminal justice statistics more relevant efficient, reliable, and actionable. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, distinguished representative of the UNODC. And the Commission will now begin its debate on the joint report of the UNODC and the International Organization for Migration on crime statistics. We do it like last time. There are 3 countries starting to speak, and then I close the list. We start with South Africa, South Africa on behalf of the African Group, then Dominican Republic, and then Cuba, and then I will close the list. Starting with South Africa.

Let me thank you, Chairperson.

South Africa, on behalf of the African Group, would like to contribute on the note by the Secretary-General on joint report on the United Nations— of the United Nations on drugs and crime. And International Organization for Migration on crime statistics. The African Group expresses its support for the recent development of the guidance manual, and indeed entitled Making Each Case Count: Leveraging Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons. This manual aims to enhance the quality of evidence and research available to inform the formulation of national policies and indeed programs designed to combat trafficking in persons.

Additionally, the African Group endorses the report on the International Classification for Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons, which represents a significant advancement towards manuals adopting a unified international classification system.

The initiative is expected to address data comparability issues and yield more reliable and robust global statistics related to the trafficking in persons. The country, that is South Africa, and the African group remain committed to supporting both the manuals, which will enhance compilation of the global report which provides a comprehensive overview of trafficking partners and indeed trends at the global, regional, and national levels. Moreover, the African Group endorses the African Union Commission policy aimed at preventing trafficking in persons within Africa. A policy that will contribute substantially to establishing a dynamic and effective policy framework for combating trafficking in person.

Furthermore, the African Group endorses the plan that will facilitate the implementation of the classification at national, regional, and international levels.

We support the proposal for the regional organizations to partner with UNODC to develop regional programs on implementation of the International Classification for Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons and endorsement— and endorse the appointment of UNODC and IMO as custodians and international classification Lastly, the African Group requests Member States and donors to work together in providing the resources necessary to support countries to successfully implement the international classification. I thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, distinguished delegate of South Africa. Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic.

Thank you very much, Chairman. The Dominican Republic welcomes the report we've been presented and understands that it's important to adopt the International Classification on Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons. Recently, we published the International Classification of Crimes for Statistical Purposes in a way which was adapted to the Dominican Republic alongside UNODC. We therefore think this is a key step to improving collection and analysis of data in such a complex area. Similarly, alongside the African Group, we believe it's important for comparability to have this classification. And we would highlight that the lack of a common indicators between countries has been a major barrier when it comes to understanding the scope and characteristics of trafficking in persons at national and international level. With this adoption of the classification on trafficking in persons, it will be easier to compare and have consistency in collected data across countries. It will also allow for the identification of patterns and trends, which in turn could help with more effective decision-making to combat trafficking in persons, as well as improving coordination between institutions involved in preventing and addressing this crime. It's very important to have an action plan which facilitates the implementation of the classification. Likewise, it's worth pointing out that UNODC, as the lead organization UN task force tasked with combating illicit drugs and international crime and IOM as the chief intergovernmental entity in the field of migration, it's important that they be appointed custodians. This appointment is very important to ensure appropriate management and proper implementation. It's also essential to have the support of regional organizations Member States and donors. Their support is needed to provide the requisite resources for the application of the classification, ensuring that countries have the support they need to ensure that this is an efficient and sustainable process.

Thank you. Thank you, distinguished delegate of the Dominican Republic. And now we come to the distinguished delegate of Cuba.

Thank you, Chair. The report presented offers a good overview about the classification on administrative data on trafficking in persons, which is a very complex matter today. My delegation agrees on the importance of having a common set of indicators, but we believe that the. The document needs to incorporate methodologies to support the implementation of the International Classification of Administrative Data on this phenomenon. With this process, we see the work of other institutions and national— other institutions and national authorities need to fully understand this as well as relevant international instruments, including the Palermo Convention and how that is applied in each country. This will be very important for the classification. In addition, the statistics division should provide an oversight role and we believe that UNODC and IOM need to act together to ensure that that can be updated. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Cuba. And now the list is closed. And now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Mexico.

Gracias, señor presidente.

Thank you very much, Chair. Mexico supports the International Classification on Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons. As the international standard for the production of administrative statistics in this field. We particularly welcome that we've had support for the methodology of definitions from the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes previously approved by this Commission. Mexico also supports the plan for its implementation at national, regional, international levels., and commits to participating actively, i.e., requests and dissemination from the custodian agencies so that we can make progress with its implementation. Mexico also is in agreement with the designation of UNODC and IOM as guardian agencies for the international classification. We would recommend respectfully to the custodian agencies that the mechanism for dissemination, orderly dissemination of this instrument through official and unofficial channels as laid out in paragraphs 19 and 20. It allows relevant stakeholders to effectively ensure implementation and it avoids also duplication or inconsistencies in national data. We think, therefore, that the use of official data should be privileged. Mexico also recommends that the custodian agencies of this classification during the dissemination period particularly focus on care of— for data, given that such crimes of trafficking in persons obviously cannot be understood without taking into account the nature of this particular phenomenon, and there needs to be appropriate context. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Mexico and now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Colombia.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Daniel recognized the strategic importance of the International Classification of Administrative Data of Human Trafficking, an essential initiative to strengthen the collection, analysis, and dissemination of statistical data on this crime. As the national authority on statistical regulation in Colombia, UNODC, Danny will conduct a review and analysis of this classification and its implementation plan developed by IOM and UNODC in relation to national realities and particularities concerning human trafficking. This effort aims to encourage the use of this standard in statistical production, ensuring that the information accurately reflects the scale, nature, and specificity of the crime in the Colombian context. Furthermore, Dane reaffirms its commitment to the international comparability of data, which will facilitate better collaboration between national and international institutions, enabling a coordinated, effective, and evidence-based response for the prevention, care, and fight against this crime.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the distinguished delegate of Colombia. Now I give the floor to the Delegated of Italy.

Thank you, Chair. Italy fully supports the objective set out in the report and recognizes the urgent needs for this classification. A standardized approach is crucial to enhancing the comparability and reliability of administrative statistics on trafficking in persons. We welcome the fact that the new classification is based on the International Classification of Crime for statistical purposes. As this ensures coherence and alignment with existing frameworks. I have to say that in Italy, the above-mentioned classification has already been translated and put in practice among institutions working in the justice sector, demonstrating its practical applicability. We also agree that the classification should be structured around trafficking events rather than legal offenses. As this approach allows for a more comprehensive and victim-centered understanding of the phenomenon. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of collecting for each event detailed information on both victims and perpetrators as part of the core variables. So, EDALEE is really supporting also for this successful implementation of this classification. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Italy and now give the floor to distinguished representative of Portugal.

Thank you, Chair. Portugal recognizes the relevance and the need for an international classification on administrative data on trafficking in persons. Having already carried out a detailed analysis of the possibilities of data reporting During the global consultation on the draft international classification standard, difficulties in reporting the data were identified for some variables and categories. It is essential to listen to the entities responsible for recording the data and for the IT systems in which this recording is made. It is important to assess, on the one hand, the availability of such elements to characterize events and those involved in them, and on the other hand, the possibility of adapting computer systems based on which data extractions are made for statistical processing. In this sense, we cannot fail to point out that the development of the aforementioned systems, as well as the development of new methodologies, may involve significant efforts efforts and costs beyond the means we have at our disposal. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Portugal and now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Peru.

Gracias, señor Presidente. Thank you very much, Chair. Peru supports the report of UNODC. And the IOM. There's a proposed international standard for administrative data on trafficking persons at issue, which would promote common standards for the collection and analysis of high-quality data, which could make a major improvement to the evidence base for combating this crime. In Peru, We have a multi-sector commission which is permanent in nature on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. This has statistics on citizen security and the goal here is to offer support for analysis and public policymaking in the field of crime and citizen security. It also allows us to monitor the major indicators and the SDGs, particularly Goal 16, peace, justice, and strong institutions. It also has the function of showing up various crime complaints in line with the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes, which is part of of coordinated work between UNODC and our national statistical agency. We hope to move on to adopting and implementing the international classification, and we call for a guide on its implementation, bearing in mind the particular characteristics of the Peruvian justice system.

The list is, as we already were mentioning, closed again. If you have— if you want to send something, you can send that to eStatement. And so I now invite Mrs. Francesca Grum, Chief of the Demographic and Social Statistics Branch of the UN SDG, to summarize our discussion.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Commission endorsed the International Classification for Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons. IC-TIP as the international statistical classification for the production of administrative statistics on trafficking in persons, acknowledging its potential to harmonize data collection and enhance international comparability. The Commission appointed UNODC and IOM as the custodians of the classification classification and endorsed their plan to facilitate its implementation, including capacity-building initiatives, technical guidance and assistance, and dissemination efforts. The Commission encouraged regional organizations to partner with UNODC and IOM in developing regional programs for the implementation of the classification. Emphasizing the importance of cross-border collaboration in addressing transnational trafficking networks. And finally, the Commission took note of the challenges national institutions may face in adopting the classification and called for mobilizing financial and technical resources to support its successful implementation. Thank you, Chair.

I thank Ms. Groome. The Commission has just concluded its discussion of Item 3M. I invite the Commission to begin its consideration of Agenda Item 3N titled Food Security and Nutrition, under which the Commission has before it for discussion and decision the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children's Fund on the World Health Organization and food security and nutrition data and statistics contained in document 3/cn.3/2025/17. Background documents are available on the Statistical Commission's website. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to introduce the report on behalf of FAO, UNICEF, and WHO.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, Excellencies and distinguished delegates. I am pleased to introduce the inaugural report of FAO, UNICEF and WHO on food security and nutrition data and statistics, following the Commission's approval at its preceding session of an standalone agenda item on food security and nutrition statistics. With this report,— which will henceforth be presented on a biennial basis— the Commission will be able to discuss and ultimately address critical gaps in the production, harmonization, and dissemination of international food security and nutrition statistics. Among others, the report provides an update on the establishment of a standalone FSN data domain in the Classification of Statistical Activities version 2.0, and highlights other recent initiatives in the area of food security and nutrition data outlined in the report, which Commission members are encouraged to take note of. The report is accompanied by 3 background documents. One of these is the terms of reference of the proposed new expert group on food security and nutrition data and statistics, while the second document is the adjusted terms of reference of the existing UN Committee of Experts on Agricultural and Rural Statistics. Commission members are invited to endorse both documents and expressed their interest in joining the new expert group on food security and nutrition data and statistics. The third background document is an annotated outline on the guidance note on food security and nutrition data and statistics. The ultimate aim of this guidance is to further strengthen food security and nutrition data systems and improve decision-making in support of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2. Statistical Commission members are encouraged to participate in the upcoming consultation process that will support the finalization and endorsement of this note at the 57th session of the Commission. Additionally, the report also provides more details on the Minimum Dietary Diversity Indicator, one of the only 3 new SDG indicators that resulted from the 2025 Comprehensive Review and endorsed earlier by this Commission under Agenda Item 3E. Many thanks. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

I thank the distinguished representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Commission will now begin its debate on report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children's Funds, and the World Health Organization on food security and nutrition data and statistics. We do it like always. We have 7 minutes to go, so they are the first 3 countries and then I will close the list starting with Malawi on behalf of the African group, then Fiji and Jordan, and then I come back to that in a minute. We start then at 3 o'clock with the Philippines so that the Philippines already know that will the first country be then speaking after the break if we can reach it to 3 countries. So I give the floor to the distinguished representative brief of Malawi on behalf of the African Group.

Thank you. Malawi, on behalf of the Africa Group, takes note and commends the work and initiatives in food security and nutrition data and statistics undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the World Health Organization. The Group takes note of the progress made in establishing a standalone food security and data domain in the classification of statistical activities version 2.0, including any rearrangement or subdivisions at the lower levels of the classification required for inclusion in the domain. Furthermore, the Africa Group supports the creation of a dedicated expert group on food security and nutrition data and statistics under the umbrella of the Statistical Commission and its terms of reference. The members of the Africa Group pledge to join the expert group to advance the African perspective with respect to methods and standards of measurement, as well as promoting harmonization, coherence, interoperability of food security and nutrition data, The Africa Group endorses the proposed amendment to the name and terms of reference of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Food Security, Agriculture and Rural Statistics. In addition, the Group takes this opportunity to acknowledge the strong partnership of the FAO in strengthening the analytical capacities of African scholars through the Global Strategy for Agriculture, Rural Statistics Program and proposes similar initiatives related to the food security and nutrition domain. The Africa Group takes note of the progress made on the development of a draft annotated outline of the guide document on food security and nutrition statistics and will encourage members of the Group to participate in the consultation process process to support the finalization and endorsement of the guidance at the 57th session of the Commission. Thank you, Chair.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Malawi, and I give the floor to distinguished delegate of Fiji. Thank you, Chair. Fiji provides the comments on behalf of the Pacific countries. Mr. Chair, on behalf of the Pacific countries, I express our support for the establishment of a dedicated expert group on food security and nutrition data and statistics and propose amendments to the Committee of Experts on Food Security, Agriculture and Rural Statistics. The Pacific faces extreme food security and nutrition challenges with high rates of malnutrition, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies, yet severe data gaps limit our ability to track progress and inform policy. We therefore welcome the recognition of food security and nutrition as a standalone statistical domain and emphasize the need for harmonized methodologies and capacity-building support for Small Island Development States. The Pacific has been a leader in advancing FSN statistics, contributing to global guidance on food consumption data, innovations, and dietary energy estimation, and regional food price monitoring. We recognize the contributions of technical partners, including FSC— SPC, excuse me, FAO, World Bank, the University of Wollongong, and Statistics Norway in advancing FSN data collection methodology improvements and capacity building in the Pacific. We urge the expert group to prioritize methods that do not solely—

that do not rely solely on household surveys, such as using CPI data to to track the cost of a healthy diet and to expand food consumption tables to include Pacific-related foods.

We also encourage strong regional collaboration leveraging on the Pacific Statistics Methods Board and Donor and Development Partners Group to test and adapt global methodologies to our context.

The Pacific is committed to engaging contributing and ensuring that FSN statistics are strengthened globally. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the distinguished representative of Fiji. And now we come to the distinguished representative of Jordan.

We are delivering this statement on behalf of the Arab members of ESCWA. We commend the report on food security and nutrition statistics, and we call for the pursuit of these efforts, namely when it comes to the mandate of the Committee of Experts on Food Security, Agricultural and Rural Statistics to ensure its independence. We also support the establishment of a team of experts under the purview of the Statistical Committee. We stand ready to join this group of experts, and we look forward to amendments which will be made in 2026 during the 57th session. We support efforts made by the FAO and UNICEF, as well as the World Health Organization, namely to ensure alignment of security agriculture and rural statistics at the international and regional level. In this regard, Jordan has sought to resolve this issue at the national and regional levels alike. We have made efforts in order to ensure that we mobilize the efforts of all entities collecting food security and nutrition data. We've held meetings amongst those entities to ensure the collection of statistics and data through the establishment of a regional entity, our first regional entity in this regard. A platform for nutrition data and food security statistics has been established for the first time in Jordan. This unique experience will have a positive impact on Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria alike. One platform will be established to ensure the monitoring of food security and nutrition for the Mashrik area in cooperation with the FAO office in Oman. This will be exemplary in terms of ensuring the integration of food security and nutrition data. And this is a great example of regional cooperation. Thank you, Mr.

Chair. The thing is, they get all Jordan. The list is now closed. Before I say something to break, just want to mention what the countries will be that now on the list so that you're back on time, starting with the Philippines, then Canada, Italy, Belize, India, Colombia, Mongolia, Norway, and the UNICEF. We still have speakers remaining on the list. Item 3 entitled Food and And nutrition, the Commission will use— continue with the list of speakers that I just was mentioning this item at 3 o'clock PM this afternoon in the conference room. Before adjourning the meeting, I give the floor to the Secretary to announcements.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Very briefly, the revision to the Resolution E/CN.3/2025 L4, Ref. 1, the one on System of National Accounts, has been issued. It's available on ODS as well as on the Statistical Commission's website. L5 should be issued COB. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, the Secretary. The meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.