(4th meeting) Statistical Commission, 57th Session

The speed of malemented. May I kindly ask you to take your seats now? I Declare open the fourth session of the 57th session of the Statistical Commission.

Before moving forward, I would like to give the floor to the Statistics Division of the United nations for a brief announcement.

Okay. Thank you, Chair. So, on the screen you'll see a QR code based on past practice. We're kindly asking delegations who are attending the 57 session and who would like to receive a soft copy of the draft decisions by email once they're cleared by the Rapporteur to please use this QR code and include your name and delegation and email address. The code is also posted in the back of the room on the wall so that you can use it during the breaks or at the end of the day.

Draft decisions are usually circulated early Friday morning before the Friday morning meeting of the Commission and at that meeting on Friday morning, the informal paper will be considered under Agenda 8. Thank

you.

I would like to thank Madam Hooper for this information as announced yesterday. I would like to remind delegations that when it comes to adopting decisions and in order to make the most out of the time that we have available, they will be presented and individually summarized on Thursday. But we do not foresee to have any further debates. The Commission will adopt decisions on these items on Friday. Nevertheless, the Bureau would like to recognize that it might be necessary to listen to statements on some of the issues relating to these items in order to make the most out of our time.

I would like to encourage delegations to inform Madam Linda Hooper this afternoon on whether they intend to take the floor or not to speak about decisions or specific decisions that will be adopted later on. I now invite the Commission to continue its consideration of agenda item 3G of of the program entitled Agricultural and Rural Statistics. We will now listen to the remainder of the statements for the debate on this issue. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Thailand.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thailand appreciate the FAO work in modernizing agricultural statistics. Our National Statistical Office of Thailand villagely conduct the 2023 Agriculture Census fully integrating digital technology and administrative data. To meet the growing demand for timely data. Thailand has accelerated our census cycle from every 10 years to every five years, transitioning to a combined approach that passed administrative records with few surveys. We are currently exploring the use of Earth observation data to enhance statistical coverage.

In this regard, we suggest the FAO consider expanding the EO STAT framework to cover aqua aquaculture, accommodating the specific regional context of Member States. Furthermore, we fully endorsed the world Program of Census of Agriculture 2030 guidelines and the Agriculture Science and Technology Indicators. We also emphasized the need for interconnected data system to reduce overlapping reporting burden globally. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Thailand and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Tajikistan.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Distinguished delegates, on behalf of the NSAO of Tajikistan, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the FAO for the comprehensive report and its continued leadership in advancing agriculture and rural statistics. We commend the progress made in modernizing statistical systems, improving data dissemination platforms and strengthening internationally harmonized standards. These efforts are essential for reliable, comparable and accessible agricultural data which support evidence based policy making and sustainable rural development. Agriculture remains a strategic sector for Tajikistan with the majority of our population residing in rural areas.

Since our last agriculture Census in in 2013, the sector has undergone substantial structural changes, highlighting the need to update our statistical base. Tajikistan recognized that conducting a modern census is a complex endeavour requiring technical, financial and human resources. In this context, we look forward to continued collaboration with FAO international partners and donor organizations to ensure the successful implementation of the 2027 census. Investment in agricultural statistics is indeed an investment in food security, rural development and climate resilience. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished distinguished delegation of Tajikistan.

I give the floor to the distinguished delegation of the Republic of Moldova.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Distinguished Delegates the Republic of Moldova highly appreciates the efforts and actions undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nations for the development, the availability and accessibility of high quality quality food, agriculture and rural statistics comparable at the international and regional level. These developments address long standing challenges in data production such as fragmentation of data sources, variability in methodologies, the need for the use of new technologies of alternative data sources, complementing statistical data collection, integration of statistical and special data into statistical production and dissemination, as well as the capacity development. Moldova appreciates and endorses the proposed guidelines for the 2030 Round World Program for the Census of Agriculture as well as the set of agricultural science and technology indicators related guidelines. These guidelines provide an important framework for strengthening national agricultural statistical systems and for enhancing evidence based policymaking in support of food security and sustainable agricultural and rural development.

The Republic of Moldova reaffirms its commitment to actively contribute to the implementation of the FAO Guidelines. We encourage the provision of support by the FAO and other partners in the implementation of the BAF guidelines that are of great significance for further development of agriculture and rural statistics. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of the Republic of Moldova and I now Give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Chile.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. For Chile, the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics is a fundamental framework to modernize the national statistics system on agriculture in our country. The support provided by FAO has allowed us to strengthen national capacities and move towards the implementation of international standards, specifically in the conceptual and methodological design of our new census. In that context, the World Program on Agricultural Census 2023 is our main reference when it comes to planning our next census.

Its conceptual and technical updates will be key inputs in order to design the future agricultural census in Chile, whose calendar we are still defining. We would like to specifically highlight progress linked to our Earth Observation Program for agricultural statistics. Using satellite imagery and other geospatial data supposes significant methodological, technical and operational challenges. But at the same time it opens up new opportunities to improve data collection, strengthen our samples and move towards statistical systems that are more timely and better integrated. Chile is constantly in contact with FAO to create dual frameworks for our upcoming census and also in order to craft questionnaires and to align our information to to the SDGs, specifically those that are related to the agricultural sector.

We reiterate our commitment to statistical modernization, the adoption of international standards and strengthening technical cooperation as pillars to have more integrated, timely and quality agricultural and rural statistics. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Chile. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Kyrgyzstan.

Thank you very much. Chair. Distinguished colleagues, the Kyrgyzstan Republic would like to thank the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United nations for the report they submitted on the development of agricultural and rural statistics. With support FIO efforts aimed at modernizing statistical systems, development of platforms, data exchange and using contemporary means of data exchange, including geospatial and satellite. For US agriculture remains one of the key sectors of the economy, ensuring that people are employed and we have food safety.

Therefore, here developing statistics in this area of special importance for us, we would like to express our gratitude to FAO for for the initiative 5230 within which we were a pilot country and it was possible to calculate indicators 231-232-5521. For the purposes of sustainable development, we support the guidelines of yet another round of the FAO Census for 2030 and would like to point out out that in March of 2026 in my country we are planning to conduct a national program in the country. We would like to express gratitude to FAO for their support in the agricultural census in 2026. Also, we pay special attention to the development of geospatial statistics to improve the quality of agricultural statistics. We would like to say that we're interested in continuing this work.

Related to that, I would like to say that we hope that potential here will grow, cooperation will be intensified, advanced technologies will continue being exchanged so as to develop contemporary statistical systems for agricultural and rural statistics. I thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Kyrgyzstan and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Indonesia.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Indonesia acknowledged the progress made in implementing FL strategy for the modernization of statistics, including the development of data exchange and central dissemination platforms. We encourage FAO to continue engaging closely with Member States to ensure these tools are responsive to national needs and capacities. Having said that, BPS Statistics Indonesia and FAO are collaborating on developing a so called mixed method method that utilize big data to increase quality and accuracy for agriculture statistics, in particular for Padi production estimates. Indonesia welcomes and appreciates ongoing capacity development efforts including the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics, support for Sustainable Development Goal Reporting and the Earth Observation for Agricultural Statistics Program.

We underscore the importance of sustained technical assistance, particularly for developing countries. Indonesia welcomes the endorsement of the guidelines for the 2030 round and strongly encourages continuous technical guidance and knowledge setting to support effective and timely implementation at the country level. Furthermore, Indonesia supports the endorsement of the Guidelines for the Agriculture Science and Technology Indicators and encourage efforts to strengthen national institution arrangement to facilitate their regular production and use for policymaking. Indonesia also supports the endorsement of the New Program of Work 20262027 of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Agricultural and Rural Statistics and encourage continued collaboration and exchange of good practices among Member States, FIO and partners. I thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Indonesia and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Honduras.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Thank you. On behalf of Honduras and Ecuador, on behalf of Latin American countries that are members of ECLAC, it is an honor to speak about the FAO's report on agricultural and Rural Statistics. Distinguished delegations, it is an honor to address this commission on behalf of our region. Warm greetings especially to all colleagues present in this room and everybody that is listening online.

Latin America and the Caribbean take note of the report drafted by FIO on Agricultural and Rural Statistics and we recognize their leadership when it comes to statistics from the agricultural sector, a strategic pillar for global food security and Agenda 2030. Our region welcomes the progress in the implementation of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics. We would like to highlight our transition to more effective data production. This is a regional priority for us, especially through the integration of administrative research registers, geospatial data and teledetection systems. These advances are critical to reduce our workload and optimize our budgetary resources in national statistical systems.

We support with enthusiasm the guidelines on Agenda 2030 and the FAO Census for 2030 in our region. The census continues to be the backbone of our statistical infrastructure. We welcome the modular approach that has been proposed which grants greater flexibility and deeper integration with other national surveys and census processes. Likewise, we also staunchly support the new work program of the Expert Committee of the United nations on Agricultural and Rural Statistics. We value efforts when it comes to harmonizing science, technology and innovation indicators in the agricultural sphere, as well as the development of methodologies to measure the loss of food and resilience when it comes to facing climate change.

We underlined the importance of technical cooperation and of strengthening capacities. We encourage FAO and international partners to strengthen the support they provide for low and middle income countries as well as island states of our region, ensuring thus that no one will be left behind when we close digital and methodological gaps. Finally, Latin America and the Caribbean would like to reiterate its commitment to producing high quality data that are timely disaggregated. This is essential in order to craft public policies that are evidence based and can transform our agricultural systems into more inclusive, resilient and sustainable models.

Thank you very much. I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Honduras and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Uzbekistan.

Thank you Madam Chair. Uzbekistan thanks FAO and partners for conferencing package under this item and support the continued modernization of agricultural and rural statistics through stronger standards, more efficient data exchange and practical capacity development. Uzbekistan welcomes FOS move toward a centralized data exchange platform UZBEKSUM welcomes Wallet program for the census of agriculture 2000 and 30s emphasize on modern methods including geo referencing, mixed mode data collection and integration with administrative and geospatial sources and sees practical value in approaches that improvement timelines and small area relevance.

Building on Uzbekistan's recent progress in agriculture statistics including experience from agriculture Sense operations in 2026, we encourage continued practical implementation materials that help countries translate their concepts of world program into operational instruments. Finally, Uzbekistan support the continued work on Earth observation for agriculture statistics and would welcome opportunities for hands on regional training and pilots that integrate airsoft observation workflows in the regular statistical production. Thank you very much for your attention.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Uzbekistan and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of the United Arab Emirates.

Say the trice. Madam Chair, the United Arab Emirates reiterates its support for the FAO and its efforts to improve rural and agricultural statistics to serve the SDGs, in particular in the area of data improvement, digital transformation and supporting policies on food security. And we support the guidelines adopted for the world program. And we emphasize that the method must take into consideration the different national circumstances and to also engage in capacity building. In this context, the UAE works to develop an integrated agricultural statistics system that builds on improving our productivity and to support agricultural production.

We also are promoting the use of modern technology in order to achieve integrated administrative data systems. And my country is benefiting from national initiatives that support sustainable agriculture, such as the program Grow the Emirates, which also contribute to the improvement of agricultural statistics. And the UAE appreciates the new work program for the Committee of Experts on Rural and Agricultural Statistics. And we emphasize the need to coordinate international efforts and to focus on practical tools that improve actual use of statistics in policymaking. We also emphasize the need for promoting regional cooperation as well as improving global cooperation.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of the United Arab Emirates. I now give the floor to CIS stat.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We thank for the report and the working out of the guidelines for the census in 2030. This is a very relevant issue for CIS countries. We pay a great deal of attention to agricultural statistics and preparing for rural census in the CIS countries. In October last year, for example, the CIS committee organized a meeting of specialists from CIS statistics so as to exchange their experience on agricultural censuses.

They discussed methodology, technological social solutions for agricultural census and the development of information technologies while using metadata in agricultural statistics, in particular land sounding and sampling for agricultural statistics. Special attention was paid to those issues that had to do with conducting the agricultural census once every 10 years. And more than a 20 year experience of agricultural censuses in CIS countries tells us that over 10 years the general aggregate of agricultural population those numbers stop being relative in their volume, their size and their structure.

And using the current sampling onto that indication indicators distorts our assessment of agricultural activity in the country. Now, the resolution here could be aided by having a rolling agricultural census with subsequent scope over 10 years for all general aggregate. This would enable us to generalize our parameters and that would improve the quality of our assessment of agricultural statistics. This would be particularly relevant and effective for countries with a very high share of agricultural population and agriculture. We support the Census program for 2030.

We therefore suggest that within this program we discuss the issue of rolling censuses and we stand ready to provide with the calculations and documentation that's needed. At the same time, take into account the importance of the guidelines for the 2030 census. We are ready to prepare the translation of that document into Russian. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of CIS stat. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of GCC stat.

We thank you, Madam Chair. The Statistical center for the GCC applauds the efforts of the FAO in order to develop a mechanism for agricultural data collection with the aim of creating a specialized platform.

We take note of the progress in improving statistical capacities of countries in the area of agricultural statistics work. We highly appreciate these efforts and look forward to benefiting from the FAO efforts in developing statistics capacities in relation to food security and agricultural statistics. We welcome the adoption of the Guidelines for the World Program for agricultural census for 2030 and we look forward to benefiting from the organization in this area as well as the adoption of the Guidelines for the Indicators for Agricultural Science and Technologies is also welcome. These indicators are important and we will benefit from them. And we also agree with the formation of the Committee of Experts.

And we take note of the recommendations formulated recently by the regional Commissions on Agricultural Statistics. And we thank the FAO for informing us of these recommendations as they are a means for exchange of expertise and experiences. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished representative of the GCC station.

I see no further requests for the floor. I now invite Matthias Reister from the Economic Statistics Division of the UN Statistical Division to please summarize our debate on this issue.

Distinguished delegates. Madam Chair. The Commission welcomed the report of the Food and Agricultural Organization and expressed its appreciation of the progress in the implementation of the FAO strategy for the modernization of its statistics. Welcomed the establishment of a data exchange platform. Expressed its appreciation for the efforts in strengthening the statistical capacities of countries on agricultural statistics.

Highlighted the importance of earth observation and requested FAO to continue those efforts. Highlighted the importance of sustained and predictable financing.

Endorsed the 2030 World Program for the Census of Agricultural Guidelines as the international standard for conducting agricultural censuses in the period 2026 to 2035 while underscoring the need for capacity development and implementation support for its effective adoption.

Encouraged members to conduct at least one census of agriculture under the WCA 2030 Round and Adhere to the proposed standards, concepts and definitions.

Endorsed the Guidelines for the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators and recognized their potential to strengthen evidence based policymaking. Endorse the program of work of the UN Committee of Experts on Agricultural and Rural Statistics for 2026-2027 and took note of the progress made by its task teams, took note of the recommendations of the FAO Regional Commissions on Agricultural Statistics. Thank you.

I would like to thank Mr. Reister. The Commission has concluded its discussion of ITIN.

I now invite the Commission to begin its consideration of agenda item 3h, entitled Business and Trade Statistics, Business Registers and Service Statistics, Under which the Commission has before it for discussion and decision. The joint report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers and the Verburg Group on Service Statistics contained in document E CN32026. Nine background documents are also available on the Commission's website.

I now give the floor to Ms. Angelique Berg from Statistics, Netherlands to introduce the report.

Muchas gracias. Thank you very much. Chair, I have the honor to introduce the joint report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wiesbanen Group on Business Registers and the Vorberg Group on Service Statistics. The report outlines the main developments since the last session and presents the key items requiring the Commission's consideration. Over the past year, significant progress has been made across all three groups, particularly in the completion of major methodological updates, including the International Merchandise Trade Statistics concepts and definitions 2026, the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026 and the second volume of the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics.

The Committee also advanced work on integrating business and trade statistics, strengthening statistical business registers and developing indicators in areas such as entrepreneurship, gender, digitalization and artificial intelligence. The Commission is invited to endorse these revised manuals and support the preparation of compilation guidance to assist countries in implementing the new standards. The Committee is also asked to support the establishment of a new task team on Industrial Statistics, the development of a compendium of technical notes as a precursor to a future handbook on business Statistics, and a revision of the standard International Trade Classification. Since the report was submitted, preparatory work for the Industrial Statistics task team has progressed, including the completion of the global consultation. Finally, the Commission is invited to provide guidance on the elements of the work programme of the Committee of Expertise, Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wiesbaden Group and the Vorburgh Group.

Chair, I would like to express my appreciation to the task team leaders, members and partner organizations for their excellent contributions and continued commitment. I look forward to the deliberation of the Commission. Thank you.

I would like to thank Madame Werg. The Commission will now consider the report and begin its debate. I give the floor to the Distinguished delegation of Tunisia.

Thank you Madam Chair. We welcome this joint report of the Committee of experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wiesbaden Group and the Vorbo Group and we appreciate their report which improves the quality of statistics in these areas. We welcome the efforts made by the group.

Company statistics industrial strategic in Tunisia are based on the 1996 register and the census related to that. In order to strengthen the efforts here we trying to meet the needs and bridge the gaps as we move forward towards the economic statistics programs via using information administrative information resources in cooperation with industries and companies. As we continue renewing updating our databases and connecting them with economic indicators. We are currently updating our statistics so as to introduce the digital in Tunisia in this area as we develop all of the accounting and census systems on the basis of 2025 data systems. As we keep introducing the digital and trade conducive climate we have an industrial statistics groups within the group group of specialized experts and what we underscore is harmony in the view of our data.

And we also emphasize a high quality of work in cooperation with all specialized working groups through very close and specialized follow up including innovation in that work of ours. I thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Tunisia and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Egypt.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I speak on behalf of the African group now which welcomes the work carried out by the Group of experts on business and trade statistics.

We welcome also the efforts made by the Wiesbaden and Voorberg Group because what they do is strengthens the work conducted by the Group of Experts in this very important area based on national census which underpins sustainable development.

We welcome the report issued by the Group of Experts and the strides they made in these Azerias. We note the development of statistics for international merchandise trade statistics and the main indicators related to it. We welcome the experts group's efforts they are making in order to include innovation and artificial intelligence and the inclusion of various information including information on gender. Very important indicators here on the African level regarding all of these activities Challenges that we are facing when it comes to bilateral exchanges Many countries have not yet implemented the recommendations from the 2020 manual. So as we move to the new manual, this could present additional challenges at the same time allowing us to move forward.

We appreciate the important work done by the Group of experts and the specialized groups and given the excellent quality of the report, we would like to underscore the following points.

The inclusion of the updated merchandise classification through the Group requires Further clarification, because the responsibility of SITC work has to be with this group of expert experts.

And we need to know whether this is going to be done internally or externally. We also need to be thinking of including regional groups in the work conducted by the experts and the working groups basing themselves on accomplishments without only talking about the the outcomes of the statistics and census groups. And then we need to include trade indicators using various general indicators. It's an important analytical tool helping us to understand complementarity regionally and to understand the activity nationally that has not yet happened. So these things need to be introduced in future to make sure that we have added value here.

And finally, the Working Group on Industrial Statistics need to be included here given how important it is when it comes to various industrial principles and indicators. And we wanted to include Egypt in the statistics and industrial census conducted in Africa. And we welcome all of the work conducted by the Committee. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Egypt and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Guyana.

Thank you. Madam Chair. Diana, on behalf of CARICOM supports the actions to be taken by the Statistical Commission relative to Business and Trade Statistics, Business Registers and Services Statistics. We welcome the joint report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, Business Registers and Services Statistics for their comprehensive report and to commend the significant progress achieved in this area, we endorse the International Merchandise Trade Statistics concept and definition 2026, the Manual of Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026 and the second volume of the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics. These manuals are poised to become instrumental within our national statistical system.

They provide updated conceptual frameworks that reflect the modern, digitized and interconnected global economy, ensuring that trade data remains accurate, consistent and comparable across countries. For informed policymaking, we support the revision of the Standard International Trade Classification which is an essential tool for organizing international merchandise trade data into classified system allowing for consistent analysis across different countries and time periods. We further support the preparation of the necessary compilation guidance for implementing International Merchandise Trade Statistics and the Manual on Statistics of International Trading Services. CARICOM expresses gratitude to UNTAD for collaborating with WTO to provide a regional capacity building workshop in 2025 through which training was delivered on measuring Digital trade for the Handbook implementation. Guyana and the CARICOM Secretariat are pleased to have participated during December 2025 in the pilot testing and training for the trade data tools to ensure that the product is fit for the compilation of international merchandise streets statistics.

CARICOM commits to supporting UNSD in the testing and subsequent implementation of this tool. In this regard, other CARICOM countries have expressed keen interest in implementing this tool. Finally, we commend the progress of work done by the TASC team on the Global Assessment of the Statistical Business Registers, which focus on the status of implementation across countries, maturity levels and priority areas for development. The Implementation Guide developed for the Global Initiative is also welcome. Thank you, Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Guyana.

We are slightly behind on our program and we still have many speakers left on our list. This is why, before giving the floor to the following speakers, I would like to kindly ask all delegations to please be mindful of the time and limit your statements to two minutes. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Costa Rica.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Costa Rica and Honduras, as co rapporteurs and on behalf of countries of Latin America and the Caribbean that are members of eclac, recognize that our global economic architecture is experiencing an unprecedented transformation. In this context, official statistics must evolve at the same speed. This is why Latin America and the Caribbean support the 2026 review of trade Statistics and the Manual on International Trade and Service Statistics. We consider that these updates are essential to precisely reflect the digitalization of commerce as well as the complexity of global supply chains and global value chains that have a direct impact on our developing economies.

We welcome the second volume of the Manual on the Main Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics. The region recognizes that this manual contributes substantively to standardizing concepts and providing structural coherence for the production of business and trade statistics, improving thus international comparability, internal consistency of our statistical systems and the technical quality of processes to produce, integrate and publish information. We underline the importance of administrative registers as the backbone of modernizing information as well as gathering it. The transition to the use of administrative data and macro data is not just a technical choice, but rather a necessity Necessity in order to reduce our working burden, especially for small and medium enterprises that are the economic engine of our region. Moreover, we also support reviewing the Uniform Classification for International Trade as well as the preparation of orientations for practical implementation.

Comparability of data is key for regional implementation as well as promoting the strength of current commercial relations. Latin America and the Caribbean would like to reaffirm that business trade and service statistics are not merely numbers on a spreadsheet they are a roadmap towards our economic sovereignty. We understand that quality data are the indispensable fuel for a prosperous future. By documenting with precision the strength of our businesses and the vitality of Our services. We are not just measuring the present, but we are contributing to wealth creation in our region, ensuring that economic development translates into real well being for all of our citizens.

This is why the efforts to craft and have access to timely and quality statistics require constant support among different actors and organizations. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Costa Rica and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of the Dominican Republic.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Along with Costa Rica's statement, we would like to comment on the experience of our country when it comes to modernizing a dynamic business register. This confirms that business registers that are up to date and based on multiple sources constitute the basis of a modern and interoperable business and trade statistics system. In our process to strengthen our institutions, we've made progress in systematically integrating business registers that are linked to formal employment as well as the operations of our foreign trade. The strategic link between the business region register and administrative sources has allowed to improve our data on importing and exporting businesses. We've improved our measurement of the formal sector and we've improved the coherence of our statistics, whether that's on trade or the economic moment.

In terms of single identifiers for businesses, we recognize it's strategic value to consolidate interoperability and the integration of microdata. However, we underline that its implementation should be gradual, it should adapt to national legal frameworks and it should go along with specific capacity building. Thank you very much.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation from the Dominican Republic and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Tajikistan.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Distinguished delegates, Tajikistan welcomes the joint report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics as well as contributions of the Wiesbeden and Wobern groups. As our global economy becomes increasingly digital and interconnected, the modernization of these statistical domains is no longer optional. It is a prerequisite for informed policy making. Tajikistan fully supports the endorsement of the three manuals, International Merchandise Trade Statistics 2026, the Manual of Statistics of International Trade and Service, Volume 2 of the manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics.

We particularly appreciate the inclusion of guidance on informal cross border trade and trade conducted by households for many transition economies. Capturing these flows is essential for a realistic representation of our national economic landscape. Tajikistan Working on improving the quality and coverage of surveys on trade and service sectors, we are planning to conduct Trade Margin Survey which was conducted almost 10 years ago with support of ESCAP. Tajikistan stands ready to collaborate on the implementation of these recommendations to foster a more transparent and integrated global statistical system. Thank you very much.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Tajikistan.

I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Romania.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Romania supports approval of the proposed methodological documents and the strategic directions of the working program. Romania acknowledges the importance of strategic strengthening statistical capacity for the implementation of new standards. We are expressing our willingness to actively contribute to the development and implementation of all the described initiatives at international and the European level, understanding that its actions will lead to a more integrated, more efficient and relevant statistical system for underpinning evidence based policies.

Thank you so much. Indeed,

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Romania and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of China.

Thank you, Chair.

China agrees the estatement of the Industrial Group and acknowledging its term of reference. We are willing to carry out work in cooperation with UNIDO as well as organizations. We acknowledge the work done by the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics and Vice Biden Group and the Wahlberg Group on Business Registers for statistic purposes, which has laid a solid foundation for compiling consistent and comparable economic statistics. China has actively explored the use of administrative records to enhance the quality efficiency of business registers. Since 2006, in collaboration with the relevant departments, China has selected a national basic unit directory update system based on administrative registration data, regularly sharing information on business entity registration, corporate tax payments and corporate pension contributions.

And we have fully realized the dynamic updating upgrading of this directory system and China is ready to exchange practical experiences with the rest of the world on this. Thank you, Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of China and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Greece.

Thank you, Madam Chair and congratulations for your election. Greece welcomes the joint report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wiesbaden Group on Business and Trade Statistics and the Werber Group on Service Statistics. We take note of the progress achieved in the works of the Committee and the two groups, especially in relation to the development of methodological standards and manuals and the priorities identified for the coming time period. Greece acknowledges the need to establish a new task team on Industrial statistics and finds suitable the proposed terms of reference. While it also acknowledges the necessity to develop a compendium of technical notes on business statistics.

Through the proposed plan, Greece underlines the importance of facilitating a stronger cooperation between the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics and other interagency working groups of other statistical domains that can promote the production of integrated multi domain statistics. During the latest period, Greece has invested significant resources in developing a new modular integrated scheme for the Statistical Business Register that can advance its maturity level based on a new software and has set as a main priority for the Statistical Business Register its interlinkage horizontally with social statistics and vertically with other business statistics aiming at producing new statistical outputs. Thank you very much.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Greece and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Spain.

Thank you very much. Madam Chair. Spain welcomes the review process currently underway. We consider that it is especially relevant to review the conceptual frameworks for the statistics on foreign trade which has allowed for more harmonization with the macroeconomic manuals adopted in 2025 and with the reality of a global economy. We support, therefore, the final versions of these manuals that will be presented in this Commission.

We would also like to highlight the importance of reviewing the guidelines on industrial statistics beyond reflecting changes in the national account system and in the main industrial classifications. It gives us the opportunity to make progress on important issues for business statistics such as statistical units, the profiling for business groups, identifying data sources, reducing the workload and measuring value chains and intangibles. Lastly, I would like to underline the strategic importance of continuing to support the use of single identifiers for businesses. This is essential for the future of our statistical infrastructure in a global context. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished representative of Spain and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Japan.

Thank you, Chair. As a member of the Steering group of the Bizwati Group on Business Registers, Japan is honored to have contributed to its activities. We would like to express our gratitude for the work done by South Africa to host the Vswati Group last October. We would also like to extend our congratulations on the achievement of the UN Global Assessment on Statistical Business Registration. We will host the next Wizarding group meeting in 2027 in Japan and otherwise continue to contribute to the development of statistical business registers.

Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Japan and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Georgia.

Distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. Georgia welcomes the joint report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wiesbaden Group and comment their coordinated working providing essential methodological guidance for a more integrated and modern statistical system. This agenda item holds particular personal significance for me, Having spent nearly 12 years working directly in business statistics and registers before assuming my current role. Georgia's approach to business and trade statistics is built on three continuity, integration and innovation. Our Statistical Business Register, the backbone for economic Statistics combines national administrative sources with survey data, enabling breakdowns by economic activity, enterprise, size, region and ownership.

Built over decades, it supports a rich and consistent time series of business activity, demography and short term indicators that serve both domestic and international users. On regional statistics, Geostat maintains a dedicated portal publishing over 200 indicators at regional and municipal level, including gender disaggregated data instances, statistics on smaller enterprises directly supporting evidence based regional development policy. On trade statistics, GA has fully implemented IMTS 2010, publishing monthly international merchandise trade data with comprehensive breakdowns as well as trade by enterprise characteristics. International trading services is expanding and Georgia looks forward to adopting the forthcoming IMTS 2026 standards. Distinguished delegates Modern business and trade statistics are not merely a measurement exercise, they are the intelligence system for functioning of economy.

Georgia is firmly committed to this agenda and I look forward to continued progress together. Thank you Chair

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Georgia and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Kazakhstan.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Kazakhstan supports the initiative to establish a Task Team on Industrial Statistics under the Committee of Experts and endorses the proposed terms of reference in light of the forthcoming revision of the International Manuals on Industrial Statistics, the establishment of such a team is both timely and appropriate. With regard to the research topics associated with the revision of the industrial statistics manuals, we consider several areas to be particular relevance. These include the harmonization of industrial statistics with SNA 2025 and the updated versions of international classifications the integration of administrative and alternative data sources including the use to enhance statistical efficiency and to reduce the reporting burden on respondents, as well as methodological issues related to measuring global value chains, the digitalization of the economy, intangible assets and sustainable industrial development.

In addition, we consider it advisable to provide more detailed guidance on certain methodological issues. Practical experience in compiling industrial statistics shows that countries often encounter specific situations that are not fully addressed in existing international guidelines. In this regard, it would be beneficial to complement the recommendations with practice oriented examples, case studies and clarifications covering complex or non standard cases. Such additions would contribute to more consistent application of the methodology and enhance the international comparability of statistical data. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Kazakhstan. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Singapore.

Thank you. Singapore commends the achievement by the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics on the successful updating and finalisation of the manuals and supports the UNSC's endorsement. We appreciate the significant work undertaken by the Committee and the Task Team on International Trade statistics in updating manuals and standards so as to address emerging topics like globalization and digital trade whilst improving alignment with other trade manuals.

These updates provide greater clarity on statistical compilation and offer strategic direction for methodological improvements in these critical statistical domains. We look forward to the relevant guidance and discussions on the new and emerging topics. We also support the proposal on the revision of International Guidelines on Industrial Statistics to align with the SNA 2025 and reflect emerging topics like sustainability and global production. We also welcome progress in various work streams including country practices on integrating gender with business and trade statistics and developing research agendas on business statistics, entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence. Lastly, Singapore welcomes the good progress made by the VUBAK Group on service statistics.

We are closely monitoring the developments and discussions, particularly the 2026 Agenda on using corporate data in the wholesale and retail trade industries and usage of hourly rate method for the compilation of services producer price indices in labour intensive sectors. Thank you

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Singapore and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of the United Arab Emirates.

Madam Chair, the UAE wishes to thank the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Weisbaden Group on Business Registers and the Voberg Group on Service Statistics for efforts made to develop methodologies and ensure compatibility amongst statistical systems. We attach great importance to the establishment of an integrated business statistics using administrative data and the analysis of modern statistics to ensure compatibility and integration and to address current challenges. We stress the need to ensure integration of business and trade statistics in the region by developing business databases and ensure the connection of such regional databases to international databases basis to ensure comparability of regional data and ensure economic integration that is based on reliable information and data on behalf of Arab countries.

We stress the need to make further efforts to collect data, including the work on the second manual, the second volume of the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics and we welcome the progress made by the Committee of Experts as well as both the Vobrik and Voice pattern groups. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of the UAE and I would like to kindly remind all delegations to please limit their statements to a maximum speaking time of two minutes. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Denmark.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Kingdom of Denmark welcomes the efforts and deliverables of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wiesbarten Group and the Vorborg Group. We note the considerable progress and the milestones achieved and we generally support the recommendations. More concretely, we endorse the 2026 versions of IMTS and MSITS, and we warmly thank the many colleagues contributing to or steering the demanding work of these manuals for their sustained qualified efforts. Also, we endorse the updated manual and principal indicators for business statistics.

Furthermore, we support the development of a compendium of technical notes and good practices in business statistics as a precursor to a manual. In our view, the suggested approach will add value and is also realistic and Denmark could contribute to parts of which should the Committee be interested. In this context, the already improving vertical integration and micro macro coherence of business and trade statistics with macroeconomic statistics should continue in the current positive direction. The same goes for the horizontal integration of business and trade data at enterprise level with data regarding environment, climate aspects and social aspects, and preferably also with data at enterprise enterprise level about digitalization and R and D and innovation. One aspect that could also deserve attention in the compendium is strategies and techniques to reduce burden on reporting enterprises for which the statistical organizations face increasing political demands.

Another aspect could be the work with the so called large cases, that is I mean the work to have to have correct and coherent information about the very largest globalized enterprise enterprises who account for an increasing part of the economy. At the same time, the development of the compendium should be coordinated with and not duplicate existing reference documents. Also, Denmark supports the suggested new task team on industry statistics, but note that it should build on already existing work in the suggested areas of research and coordinate its work with other fora also dealing with these areas. Having said this, the team and the expert group as a whole should have as an aim for its work not to increase demands on national statistical systems, but rather seek simplifications and then use the horizontal data integration, also called microdatalinking, to fulfill new user needs. I will conclude with something that puzzles me a bit.

Taking into account the importance of the services sector in the economy, it seems to me that the Forborg Group and Services statistics has a somewhat narrow scope and focus on prices and on retail and wholesale. And we suggest the Forborg Group and the Committee to reflect on the scope and the focus of the group. But having said this, we first and foremost welcome the considerable progress and we happily endorse the recommendations. Thank you very much.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Denmark and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Canada.

Merci, Madame la President. Thank you, Madam Chair. Canada generally supports the work in the report and supports the creation of a new task team on industrial statistics and its terms of reference. Canada contributes through its own experience, particularly in the areas of producer price indices and deflation, and does so notably through the Waraburg Group. Similarly, we also welcome opportunities for cooperation to ensure that appropriate deflators and price measures are taken into account in the development of industrial statistics products.

We recognize that there are limited statistical resources at the international level to support the work of additional task teams and therefore encourages the prioritization of activities based on available capacity. I thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Canada and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of South Africa.

Thanks Madam Chair. South Africa support the joint report of the Committee expect of Business and Trade Statistics, the Westbeden Group on Business Register and the groups on. The progress made across these three groups is commendable. Perhaps most commendable is seeing the fruits of integrated approach across subject matter areas as demonstrated by these three groups of which South Africa has an honor or participated in the two. On this note, in October 2025 the African continent through South Africa has had the pleasure of successfully hosting the 29th Versbaden Group on Business Register meeting for the very first time in Johannesburg.

We trust that while this is a milestone worth celebrating, it is also demonstrating the readiness of the continent to host future meetings on this nature. Chairperson, we are pleased with the work that has been put into preparing the various manuals on Trade and Services Statistics and the Handbook of Business Statistics. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of South Africa and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of India,

Honorable Chair and esteemed delegates. We thank the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Weisbaden Group and the VORBA Group for the comprehensive joint report. India welcomes the findings of the 2025 Global Assessment on Statistical Business Registers and the implementation GUID under the Global Initiative on Unique Identifiers for Businesses. The report is timely and highly relevant in strengthening integrated and interoperable statistical systems. India recognizes a comprehensive and integrated statistical Business Register as foundational for producing high quality, coherent and timely business, trade and service statistics.

India is also working towards preparing a national stock Statistical Business Register through use of administrative data by linkages through unique identifiers. India will be happy to contribute towards the works of the UN Committee of Experts in Business and Trade Statistics and its Task Team on Statistical Business Register by sharing experiences of conducting enterprise surveys for the preparation of the Manual on Industrial Statistics. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of India and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Indonesia.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Indonesia welcomes the Comprehensive Joint report from the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers and also the Fuburg Group on Service Statistics. Indonesia welcomes the recommendation to submit these manuals to the Commission at the 57th session in 2026 for endorsement following the completion of the Global consultation processes in 2025. BPS Statistics Indonesia strongly support the work of the Task Team on Statistical Business registers, including the 2025 Global Assessments on Register Maturity and Unique Business Identifiers. Furthermore, Indonesia endorses the development of the SBR repository and coordination with the Wispandent Group to address challenges like globalization and informal economy.

Comply with the principles of Individual Data Protection. BPS Statistics Indonesia calls for prioritized technical assistance to strengthen national SBR and to promote their integration into trade and other economic domains in alignment with the 2025 System of National Account. BPS emphasizes the importance of coherence between industrial statistics and other domains such as structural business statistics, short term indicators and labor statistics. Harmonization on concepts, statistical units and classification is key to improving data integration, international comparability and analytical value for policy making. In this regard, Indonesia supports efforts to align the revised Industrial Statistics guidelines with existing international standards and indicator frameworks, including the Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics and the Sustainable Development Goal Indicator Framework.

Indonesia strongly support the work of the Task Team on Statistical Business registers including the 2025 Global Assessment on Registered Maturity and Unique Business Identifiers. Indonesia emphasizes the importance of coherence between industrial statistics and other domains. Harmonization on concepts, statistical units and classification is key to improving data integration, international comparability and analytical value for policymaking.

So in this regard, BPS will be committed to support this revision of Industrial Statistic guideline. Thank you Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Indonesia and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Malaysia.

Chair Excellency Distinguished Delegate Malaysia support the Manual International Merchandise Trade Statistics Concept and Definition and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services as timely updates that address digital trade informal trade involving production arrangement while ensuring coherent with Trade, the 2025 System of National Account and BPM7. This framework are essential for producing more inclusive granular and future ready trade statistics. Malaysia also endorsed the second volume of the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics and support the establishment of the Task Team on Industrial Statistics. This initiative aligns with our effort to modernize statistical production, integrate administrative and survey data and strengthen the use of Cisco Business Register in response to globalization, digitalization and sustainability transition. We further support the development of the Compendium of Technical Notes on Business Statistics and the revision of the Standard International trade Station Classification SITC in line with HS 2028.

Clear and practical compilation guidance for IMTS and MSITS implementation will be critical to ensure consistency, comparability and high quality trade statistics across countries. At the national level, Malaysia is progressively strengthening its Statistical Business Register including the integration of Informal Sector Unit into the economic census 2026. We are also developing an integrated geospatial platform linking the Malaysia Statistical Basin regulation with the Address Register and administrative sources to enable granular analysis and informed decision making. Finally, Malaysia stands ready to share its experience and best practices and look forward to to continue collaboration within the WISBADEN Group to advance the modernization and international capability of business statistics. Thank you Chair,

I thank the distinguished delegation of Malaysia and I now give the floor to the representative of unctad.

Thank you Chair. Dear Delegates, I'm pleased to deliver this joint statement on behalf of OECD and UN Trade and Development unctad. We welcome the Joint report to the Commission which highlights important progress in strengthening business trade and services statistics. We support the endorsement of the manuals on International Merchandise Trade Statistics, Trade in Services and Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics, noting the extensive global consultations and alignment with the latest statistical standards including the SNA and the Balance of Payments Manual and we commend all experts involved particularly for addressing areas such as digitalization, gender and informal cross border trade.

UNCTAD and OECD welcome the establishment of the new Task Team on Industrial Statistics coordinated by UNIDO and unsd. Recognizing that modern industrial statistics are essential for monitoring economic transformation, structural change and productivity. We acknowledge the effort towards a compendium of business statistics as an essential step towards consolidating methodological work and stand ready to contribute. We are pleased to support the establishment of the Interagency Task Force on Capacity Building for International Trade Status Statistics co chaired by OECD and WTO to coordinate efforts in supporting implementation of the manuals. Looking ahead, we underline the importance of comprehensive and agile capacity support to meet needs from skills development to adaptable digital tools for countries such as UNCTAD's Trading Services Statistics Information System TSTAT to empower countries to produce granular, timely and harmonized statistics.

Noting the growing demand, we call on Member States, the UN system and international organizations to ensure sustained investment in strengthening trade and business statistics, particularly in services trade where persistent data gaps hinder effective policymaking and integration in into global markets and in statistical business registers that underpin consistent high Quality economic and business statistics. Finally, UNCTAD and OECD are committed to working closely with the Commission, the Committee of Experts and all partners to advance integrated modern policy, relevant business and trade statistics and to facilitating further development of methodologies and capacity capacities. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished representative of UNCTAD and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of UN Tourism. Thank you, Chair. UN Tourism welcomes the Joint Reports and expresses its appreciation to the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics and its task team on International Trade Statistics for the good collaboration. Tourism is a leading category of trade and services for many countries. In this context, UN Tourism is pleased to have contributed to the revision process of the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026.

The revised manual strengthens the statistical foundation for measuring tourism as an internationally traded service and enhances coherence across trade, trade statistics and tourism statistics. UN Tourism therefore supports the endorsement of the MSITs 2026 and looks forward to the development of practical compilation guidance to support countries in implementing the revised manual. In addition, UN Tourism appreciates the collaboration with the United Nations Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics in the area of environmental, social and governance reporting by tourism businesses. Thank you very much.

I would like to thank the distinguished representative of UN Tourism and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the eec.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Distinguished Delegates, we welcome and support the work done to revise the manual on statistics of International Merchandise Trade and Trade in Services. This is needed to calculate the indicators showing the free flow of trade and services in Eurasia so as to improve the methodology of how customs stand statistics is conducted. Mutual merchandise trade is conducted. What is of special importance is digital trade section. At the same time, the Commission of ours supports the revision of international recommendations on the index of Industrial Production which is used when official statistical information is is disseminated.

I thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished representative of the EEC and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of GCC stat.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The GCC Station supports the statement made by the uae. I wish to point out the

first and foremost, we support the establishment of a working group on industrial statistics and we stress the need for capacity building and translating indicators in the Arabic language and we support the review on the classification or the standard international trade classification to ensure its coherence with the SNA system. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished representative of GCC stat. Since there are no further requests for the floor, I invite Mr. Marky Muriawan Chief of the Trade Statistics Section of UNSD to summarize our discussion on this item.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Distinguished Delegates, the Commission welcome the joint report of the Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics, the Wisbaden Group on Business Registers and the Forberg Group on Service Statistics. Appreciated the activities undertaken so far by the Committee. The Westbaden Group and the Forberg Group Adopted the International Merchandise Trade Statistics concept and definitions IMTS 2026 and the manual on Statistics of International trade in services msits 2026. Welcome their implementation strategy including the compilation guidance and stressed the importance of capacity development to support Member States. Endorsed the second volume of the Manual on Principal Indicators for Business and Trade Statistics, Supported the establishment of of the Task Team on Industrial Statistics under the Committee and endorsed its terms of Reference.

Supported the development of the Compendium of Technical Notes on Business Statistics as a precursor to the Handbook of Business Statistics and welcomed its action plan. Supported the revision of the standard International Trade Classifications in collaborations with the Committee of Experts on International Statistical classifications. Appreciated the 2025 Global Assessment on Statistical Business Register and on the use of unique identifier for businesses. Noted the progress in the country implementations of Statistical Business Registers and emphasize the need for its capacity building. Thank you.

I would like to thank Mr. Muriawan. The Commission has concluded its discussion of Item 3H. I now invite the Commission to begin its consideration of Agenda Item 3i, entitled Environment and Climate Change Statistics, under which the Commission has before it for discussion and decision the report of the Secretary General on that matter. It is contained in document E C3 2026 10.

Background documents are also available on the Commission's website. I now give the floor to Mr. Emil Ivanov from the Environment Statistics section of UNSD to introduce the report.

Muchas gracias, Madam Chair. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, distinguished Delegates, Dear colleagues, I have the pleasure to introduce the report of the Secretary General on Environment and Climate Change Statistics. It provides an overview of the work of the Statistics Division carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Expert Group on Environment and Climate Change Statistics and other key partners. In particular, the report covers work on communication and coordination of environment and climate change statistics, methodological development with key advances on climate and health data collection and dissemination of water and waste statistics and support to the Paris Agreement reporting.

Also capacity development and implementation of the global set of climate change statistics and indicators and the framework for the development of Environment Statistics and advocacy and resource mobilization. I kindly invite you to consider the points outlined in the report in paragraph 64, I would like to highlight in particular the invitation to the Commission to express its views on the consolidated work program of the Statistics Division in collaboration with the restructured Expert Group on Environment and Climate Change Statistics, as reflected in the Group's updated terms of reference. I would also like to invite the Commission to acknowledge the importance for Member States to use the global set of climate change statistics and indicators, especially for supporting the reporting under the Paris Agreement. Let me take this opportunity to reiterate that the global set is not intended for countries to report climate data to the Statistics Division, but rather to unfccc. The Commission is also invited to endorse the progress on new statistical methodologies, especially on climate and health.

And finally, the Commission is invited to encourage key international organizations to continue to collaborate on data collection related to water and waste. Thank you.

I would like to thank Mr. Ivanov. The commission will now begin its debate on the report. I give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Belarus.

Distinguished members. Madam Chair, Ladies and gentlemen. We take note of the report.

On the work carried out by the Environment Statistics Division. We are particularly interested in the integration of data on climate change indicators in 2025. In fact, we published on our national website statistical indicators that have to do with climate change.

It's 62 indicators that have been harmonized and standardized in the framework of systems to craft indicators on sustainable development. And this is perfectly consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement. We support the Group of Experts to review key principles to collect statistics on the environment, which would allow us to improve our national statistics on this issue and to use them more widely. Thank you very much.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Belarus and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of the United Arab Emirates.

Madam Chair, the United Arab Emirates expresses its gratitude to the experts on environmental and climate change statistics and we emphasize our continued support for the group and we welcome the progress achieved in developing the global set of climate change statistics and indicators in order to support reports as per the unfccc.

The UAE reiterates the need to promote cooperation between national statistics offices and the UNFCCC in order to support the development of national statistics and capacity building and improving reporting. My country supports the progress achieved in new statistics that address the relation between climate change and health.

In conclusion, the UAE reiterates the need to continue the support of international organizations for the process of national statistics collection, in particular as related to water and waste. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of the uae and I now give the floor to the distinguished Delegation of Norway

thank you, Chair. Norway supports the terms of reference and the proposed program of work with reference to the urge for collaboration between institutions at national level. This statement is a result of the close cooperation between Statistics Norway and the National Environmental Agency, the focal point to the unfccc. We work closely together in developing environmental and climate settlement statistics and Environmental agency as a central partner in our national statistical system. We support the purpose of the global set of climate change statistics and indicators in informing transparency reporting under the Paris Agreement.

At the same time, noting that the global set comprises more than 150 indicators covering drivers, impacts, vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation, we consider it important that indicators are included as appropriate since not all of these are equally relevant for biannual transparency reports. Further information provided in decision point D are taken well. Note of we support a continued revision of the global set and a revision of the FTEs, taking into account developments in relevant international frameworks. Methodological work across these frameworks is advancing, helping to close knowledge gaps and improve coherence. We would underline the importance of aligning, to the extent possible, the further development of indicators with the various international reporting obligations and would also encourage the Statistical Commission to keep this alignment in focus.

Thank you, Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Norway and I now give the floor to to the distinguished delegation of Cuba. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. The National Statistics Office of Cuba welcomes the result of the activities carried out by the Group of Experts on environmental statistics on climate change and we would like to highlight the link with the preparation of guiding notes on how to produce statistics with a gender perspective. We ratify the importance of using all statistics and indicators available globally on climate change to facilitate the preparation of biannual reports on transparency based on the Paris Climate Agreement in preparation for nationally determined contributions as well as a greater integration of statistics and climate policies in our countries. In this sense, my country has strengthened coordination mechanisms as well as inter institutional relationships to ensure quality in the process agencies to produce reports and this includes our inventory on greenhouse gas emissions.

We are strengthening our partnerships with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment. This is the Ministry in charge of presenting relevant information to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The data that will be considered for all reports firstly are those that available within our national statistics statistical system that includes data produced by our office as well as other official instances. We support the new review and we reiterated the need to rationalize indicators to eliminate duplications. This will allow for better performance of statistical offices and national statistical systems lastly, we would like to welcome the initiative carried out to strengthen capacities in our countries and at the same time time we would like to highlight the role of the Statistical Division in Latin America in order to support and establish the framework for developing statistical data on the environment in our country.

And we invite the mobilization of further resources. This is essential to achieve our objectives. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Cuba and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Surinam.

Yes. Sorry. Distinguished Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, Suriname, on behalf of CARICOM generally supports the action of the report as presented, especially given the importance of environment and climate change statistics for CARICOM seats. The region is prone to increasing vulnerability to climate change as well as its appropriate impacts on our environment, ecosystem and our economic sectors like tourism and agriculture.

However, data reporting in this area still remains a serious challenge for most CARICOM states, resulting in a significant data gap. CARICOM are therefore making an urgent appeal for greater advocacy and aim to impress upon policymakers and the donor community about to about the urgent need for sustainable data financing in this area. Increased financing would strengthen capacity in environment and climate change statistics, enabling the effective implementation of the global set and the FDAs. Our preparedness to respond to and mitigate impacts of climate crisis in saving lives and livelihoods is dependent on the availability of timely and reliable baseline statistics and indicators. We wish to express our deep appreciation for the continuous support and interventions rendered at a regional and national levels by the UNSD and ECLAC in the trust to making environment and climate change statistics available for policy and decision makings and international reporting.

We welcome the Statistics Division future plans to advance methodological and implementation support for the Global SET and advance the methodology and indicators on integrating climate and health in the future. To increase data availability in this area, we support a consolidated work program conducted by the Statistics Division in collaboration with the extended restructured, restructured Expert Group on Environment and Climate Change Statistics. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Suriname and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Brazil. Muchas gracias, Senora President. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Brazil would like to reaffirm the role of the Global set of climate change statistics indicators as an essential instrument to support the preparation of biennial reports on transparency of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and to strengthen the integration between statistics and climate policies at the national level. In the context of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change and through the Inter Ministerial Committee on Climate Change coordinated by our Environment Ministry, we inaugurated a new edition of our climate change plan that guides mitigation and adaptation actions in our country.

The Committee has a working group on Monitoring and transparency that is made up of different bodies and they're in charge of crafting a cross cutting strategy of monitoring, management, evaluation and transparency. This shows the relevance of inter institutional mechanisms that are aligned to the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. When it comes to monitoring, Brazil is facing challenges related to fragmentation when it comes to data production and the decentralization of information systems. This demands integration, efforts in single use platforms and constant training of technical teams in different ministries and and organs of the government. We reiterate the importance of transparency and the periodic publishing of results in an accessible and easy to understand language and updating our national normative framework to ensure continuity in our climate policy.

Brazil takes note of the advances in progress in terms of the methodology and the indicators and this includes the links between climate, gender and climate, gender, health and disasters. These links reflect the most current scientific progress which is significant. We underline the need to carry out pilot projects and provide constant technical training in this context. Brazil would like to also welcome the work of the Statistics Division and the Group of Experts as well as the subgroups on issues relating to climate change for its surveys and we would also like to thank the Institutional Group and the Group of Experts on gender statistics. We participated in these groups.

In fact, in these fora we've been able to reflect on the importance of incorporating new modules in our agricultural census, such as data disaggregated by gender, the measurement of laws and and damage issues relating to natural disasters and the geospatial characterization of land. We've innovated by incorporating geospatial data. We hope to soon be able to share with you the lessons learned throughout our national experiences. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Brazil and I now give the floor to the Distinguished delegation of of India.

Thank you, Chair. While reiterating the comments in the written statements submitted by India on environment and climate change statistics, we would like to emphasize a few issues. Chair, as you are aware, India is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UNFCC and to the Paris Agreement. In this context, it is important to Note that the 59 shortlisted global goals on adaptation, the GGA indicators, as reflected in decisions under consideration of the COP30, are proposed to be tested by parties over the next two years, including through consultations with relevant practitioners and stakeholders. As these indicators are still in a testing and consultative phase, they cannot yet be considered final or formally agreed upon for reporting purposes.

Consequently, the GGA indicators are not, in our opinion, currently suitable for integration into the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics, which serves as a guiding framework for countries in the collection and compilation of official environment statistics. At the national level, India periodically submits its biennial Update reports, the BURS and the national communications to the UNFCC. The NCCs further, the Biennial Transparency Reports, the BTRS, are also being prepared as a part of the Enhanced Transparency Framework under the Paris Agreement. It is further noted that the unfccc, along with its Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol, constitute the multilateral framework for deciding upon global collective action to combat climate change. India therefore does not encourage any additional reporting obligations over and above what has been agreed under these instruments.

It is therefore proposed that it may not be feasible for India to agree for any additional data requirements on matters related to climate change. Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of India and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Kiribati.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On behalf of the Pacific countries, Kiribati welcomes the reports on environment and climate change statistics. Pacific island countries are on the forefront of the impacts of climate change. Relevant statistics are therefore a key priority to inform policy and decision related to climate change for our countries. We need to align national statistical offices with the needs of government ministries and other stakeholders to support accurate and timely climate change adaptation and mitigation planning.

The work of the UN Statistics Division and Expert Group on Environment and Climate Change Statistics is important to the development and implementation of the global SET and other climate change and environmental statistics. Pacific countries endorsed the updated terms of reference of the Expert group and the focus of climate change statistics. Given the importance of alignment with other countries reporting obligations and the need of policy agencies, we support further work by the expert group to revise global sets and align it with other environmental and climate change related methodologies and indicators such as Global Goal on Adaptation and the Sustainable Development Goals. Noting the small size of many of the Pacific countries, we encourage collaboration between national statistical offices with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change national focal points to support national data strengthening and international reporting processes. The role of household surveys to produce data and statistics is an area of importance in in the Pacific, particularly with the upcoming round of population and housing censuses.

In 2025, Kilibas published Climate Change loss and damage statistics from the Natural Disaster and Climate Change Survey module that was developed by the Pacific community with oversight with the Pacific Statistics Methods Board. The first country in the Pacific to publish Climate change statistics based on the global set was Fiji in 2025. We acknowledge the commitment of ESCAP to support a three year project with Fiji to develop national relevant climate change related statistics integrating environment, social and economic dimensions. We would also like to thank unc, APP and SPC for providing training on climate change related standards statistics to several Pacific countries. Madam Chair, there is need for further support to the Beswick countries in this area and we welcome further collaboration.

Thank you.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Kiribati.

We are slightly delayed with respect to our program of work and we still have 15 speakers speakers pending on our speakers list for the debate on this item. Therefore, before giving the floor to the next speakers, I would like to kindly ask all delegations once again to please kindly bear in mind that they should limit their statements to a maximum of two minutes for their speaking time. I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of China.

Madam Chair, thank you. We thank the Expert Group on Environment and Climate Change Statistics for the work. We're cognizant of the importance of the global set of climate change statistics and indicators in supporting transparency reporting on the Paris Agreement and national climate decision making. China's MBS attaches great importance to this issue. Currently, we on a regular basis collect and disseminate information with relation to atmosphere, water, solid waste, ocean ecological environment, natural disasters and environmental protection.

Statistical data work is conducted with relevant department. We do our best to institutionalize and standardize work with regard to climate change response. We have established a departmental statistical reporting system for Climate change response to support the compilation of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. We promptly provide foundation data from energy, industry and agriculture statistics. This effectively underpins the formulation of China's NDC registry and supports the evaluation of related policies.

China is in favor of enhanced collaboration between national statistics offices and UN FCCC focal points. We will continue to actively participate in international statistical capacity building so as to collectively improve the quality, comparability and policy relevance of climate change statistics and thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of China and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Philippines.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. The Philippines commends the Statistics Division and the Expert Group on Environment and Climate Change Statistics for their achievements over the past year. We express our support for the consolidated work program and commend the group for maintaining an excellent balance between technical work and inclusive stakeholder engagement. We highly appreciate the proposal to frame indicator metadata in a manner that provides clear guidance while allowing countries the flexibility to align components with their national priorities. In this regard, we recommend updating the FDES to incorporate clearer and more detailed definitions of the statistics to be compiled.

Moreover, we suggest establishing harmonized reporting guidelines for the FDES and the global set to ensure coherence, prevent duplication and enhance comparability across national and international reporting. In today's context, we underscore the importance the efficiency and streamlined reporting mechanisms. Furthermore, we concur with the proposal to strengthen collaboration between national statistical offices and the UNFCCC focal points within the Philippines statistical system. One of the priority areas is development and generation of Philippine set of climate change statistics and indicators aligned with the global set and responsive to national development priorities. These efforts are likewise aligned with our new Sustainable Development Cooperation framework.

The conduct of the training workshop on the Philippine set of climate change statistics and indicators with the World bank and the recent national dialogue in the same in partnership with unscap which convened key agencies and stakeholders demonstrate this commitment. UNSCAP and the Philippine Statistics Authority have also initiated a three year collaboration effort through the project strengthening capacity to produce and use statistics for effective climate action in Asia and the Pacific. With this support, we are optimistic in further enhancing the production and use of priority climate change statistics for evidence based and effective policy action. The Philippines remains committed to to contributing actively to the continued advancement of environment and climate change statistics at the global level. Thank you Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of the Philippines and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Portugal. Madam Chair, Portugal welcomes the report of the Secretary General on information environment and Climate Change statistics and supports further consolidation of the Global Statistical Work program in this area. We particularly endorse strong cooperation between National Statistical Office and national focal points to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as enhanced coordination is key to coherence and policy relevance. We also express our strong support for the work of the SOO Group on climate and health statistics and the development of robust climate health indicators to better inform public health and adaptation strategies. Finally, we stress the importance of advancing disaster related statistics.

The emerging global disaster related statistics framework together with climate indicators is essential for risk assessment and resilience building. We encourage continued methodological progress, capacity building and better integration of climate and disaster information systems. Thank you Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the distinguished delegation of Portugal.

On top of respecting the time limit of two minutes, I would like to kindly ask delegations to please send copies of their statements to statementsn.org so that we may facilitate the interpreter's work and the interpreters thank you very much as well I now give the floor to the distinguished delegation of the United Republic of Tanzania. Thank you, Madam Chair. United Republic of Tanzania is making this intervention on behalf of Africa Group the Africa Group welcomes the report of the Secretary General on Environment and Climate Change Change Statistics and recommend the consolidated work program of the Statistics Division and the restructured Expert Group. High quality environment and climate change statistics are essential for implementing the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework and for guiding climate resilient development in Africa. We highlighted the global set of climate change statistics and indicators and the FDS as a core core tools for building strong national environmental climate change statistics programs.

It supports their continued use for compiling data and reporting under the Paris Agreement, including in national adaptation plans and BTRs. Because many African countries face data gaps, weak coordination and limited resources. The Group calls for phased indicator adoption, closer cooperation between NSOs and the UNFCCC focal points and forecast the capacity of building support. The Group welcomes the Implementation Guidelines and the Climate Change Statistics and Indicators Self Assessment Framework, calling for wider use and translation into more African languages. It supports revision of the FDS and the global set and alignment with evolving global frameworks while remaining clear, coherent and practical for countries with differing capacities.

We underscore that this work depends on sustaining capacity, building stronger institutions and enough resources.