STAT/WGSE.9/8
12 January 1996
ENGLISH ONLY

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Working Group of Statistical Experts
Ninth session
30 January-2 February 1996
Bangkok

1. At its ninth session, the Committee on Statistics considered the tentative provisional agenda for its tenth session to be held around November 1996. The Committee's report states "Several issues and proposals were discussed including the possibility of including specific statistical themes, and the appropriate balance between substantive and procedural items. The Committee requested the secretariat to take note of the proposals, and others that might be added by the Working Group of Statistical Experts and the bureau. On that understanding, the Committee decided on the following tentative provisional agenda for its tenth session:

1. Opening of the session.
2. Adoption of the agenda.
3. Report of the bureau.
4. Report of the Working Group of Statistical Experts.
5. Review of statistical and public sector computerization activities in the region.
6. Functioning of the Committee and its bureau.
7. Issues relating to the development of statistics, including those in support of the themes of the Commission.
8. Issues relating to SIAP, including the report of the Governing Board.
9. Issues relating to information technology applications and information resource management in the region.
10. Programmes of work in statistics, 1996-1997 and 1998-1999, including the development of an integrated presentation of work programmes [and the medium-term plan, 1998-2003].
11. Other matters.
12. Election of the bureau.
13. Adoption of the report.

2. As far as the secretariat can see, the tentative provisional agenda above remains largely valid in a technical sense. The secretariat has observations on the following items:

Item 6 - there would be an opportunity for the Committee to review again its terms of reference, should it wish to do so. The Working Group may wish to make a recommendation in this regard, based on a report from the Bureau which has the item on the agenda for its first session on 29 January 1996;

Item 7 - there was some feeling at the Committee that specific statistical themes should be spelled out in the agenda, which would of course have lengthened it. The scope of such elongation is quite considerable. The themes of the Commission itself continue to be:

1. regional economic cooperation
2. environment and sustainable development
3. poverty alleviation through economic growth and social development;

Item 10 - shortly after the Committee met in 1994, it was decided that the next medium-term plan period should run from 1998-2001. As noted in document STAT/WGSE.9/6, the text of the plan prepared by the secretariat is being presented for the information of the Working Group prior to its consideration by the ESCAP Commission in April 1996. It is suggested that the Committee at its tenth session consider the text in the context of the first revision of the plan, which is due in 1998. The agenda item might therefore read "Programmes of work in statistics, 1996-1997 and 1998-1999, including the development of an integrated presentation of work programmes, and review of the medium-term plan, 1998-2001."

3. Since the Bureau will also be reviewing the tentative provisional agenda for the tenth session of the Committee on Statistics, the Working Group will no doubt wish to take into consideration the results of the Bureau's own deliberations on the matter.