1. It has become a practice that the Working Group of Statistical Experts consider the provisional agenda for the coming session of the Committee on Statistics.  Since the establishment of the Bureau of the Committee, and under its terms of reference, the Bureau has been reviewing the provisional agendas of the Committee and the Working Group before they are finalized.  It is expected that the Bureau will continue with this function.  The provisional agenda for the Committee, as amended, remains tentative and will be suitably refined and finalized by the Bureau before the next Committee session. 

2. As discussed elsewhere in the documentation for the Working Group session, the Commission is scheduled to review resolution 53/1 at its fifty-eighth session in April 2002.  The Commission in 2001 endorsed the report of the Committee at its twelfth session, in which the Committee had made the case for its continued existence in any new conference structure.  There is at the time of writing no indication that the Committee on Statistics would be abolished, but changes to the conference, secretariat, and programme structures are likely to occur and these changes might affect the organization of the Committee.  Until a final decision is taken, the Working Group may want to consider a status quo scenario with regard to the conference structure, and to deliberate on the provisional agenda of the Committee in that spirit.

3. The following is an outline of a draft provisional agenda for the Committee's thirteenth session, for review by the Bureau under its terms of reference and subsequently by the Working Group of Statistical Experts:

1. Opening of the session.
2. Adoption of the agenda.
3. Overview of significant global and regional issues in official statistics.
4. Statistical indicators for monitoring the Millennium Declaration and other international development goals.
5. Poverty statistics
6. International Comparison Programme
7. Measuring the knowledge-based economy
8. .....[emerging issues]
9. Reports for the attention of the Committee:
   1. Report of the Bureau, including implementation of the recommendations of the Committee at its eleventh and twelfth sessions;
   2. Report of the Working Group of Statistical Experts;
   3. Report on major statistical activities of regional and international institutions;
   4. Reports concerning the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific, including the reports of the Governing Board.
10. Programme matters: 
    1. Changes to the programme of work, 2002-2003;
    2. Outline of the programme of work, 2004-2005.
11. Other matters.
12. Election of the Bureau.
13. Adoption of the report.

Should there be any significant change in the conference structure of the Commission, it will presumably be necessary for the Committee to examine its terms of reference, in addition to discussing the above items.

4. Additionally, the Bureau and Working Group may wish to consider whether there should be an "open forum" type of discussion during the thirteenth session of the Committee, and if so what the topic(s) might be.  Alternatively, this might be left for the Bureau to decide on nearer to the dates of the meeting.

5. Apart from the agenda, the Bureau and the Working Group might like to consider the venue and date of the thirteenth session of the Committee.  The venue will be Bangkok unless a member State offers to host the meeting elsewhere, which would entail shouldering the additional costs involved.  As to the timing, the Committee has usually met in November of even years.  It may be helpful to settle at this stage on definite dates, to facilitate planning on the part of members and associate members as well as the secretariat.  The secretariat will provide the Bureau and Working Group with some alternatives after having checked the overall ESCAP conference schedule for 2002, which will shortly be drawn up.