(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) A Technical Working Group (TWG) in National Accounts and Short Term Indicators has been established to prioritise and ensure the development of statistics in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the areas of National Accounts, Short-Term Economic Indicators, International Trade in Services, and Investment Statistics.
The TWG, which will also provide support to and assist in the effective and accurate implementation of the Barbados Action Plan in these areas, was established at a meeting of Economic Statistics Experts held in Georgetown, Guyana, from 21-29 April 2009.
The meeting was geared at assessing methods in the production and compilation of key economic statistics towards informing the CARICOM Economic Statistics Action Plans (CESAPs).
National Accounts Statisticians from CARICOM Member States, one Associate Member, Bermuda, and representatives of the Caribbean Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) participated in the meeting. The forum was funded under the Ninth European Development Fund (9th EDF) – Caribbean Integration Support Programme (CISP) and was facilitated by an Economic Statistics Consultant recruited under the Statistical Component of the 9th EDF.
Among the other achievements of the meeting were:
• the documentation and sharing of experiences and methods used by Member States in the compilation of National Accounts Statistics with a view towards harmonising these statistics across the Region.
• The initial identification of areas where technical assistance would be required by Member States to further the various priority areas of statistics in their countries.
The Regional Statistics Department of the CARICOM Secretariat, expressed appreciation to the European Community for making the funds available under the 9th EDF to support the Regional Integration Process.
The context of the support under the Ninth EDF was emphasized to the National Accountants relative to the deepening of the integration process of the Region and its repositioning in the world economy. It was indicated that statistics are collected in order to improve and monitor each Member State’s economy and consequently, the state of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The provision of quality and timely statistics to policy makers will allow them to make informed policy decisions at both the national and regional levels. It was further emphasized that the harmonization of statistics is of key importance, as the statistics must be comparable across the Region in order to foster the integration process.
