A delegation comprising representatives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) and independent experts has visited Azerbaijan to conduct the next Global Assessment of the National Statistical System.

The Global Assessment, taking place from 19 to 23 October, will examine the compliance of the National Statistical System with the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and other international standards. The assessment will cover the organization of official statistics, the legislative framework, professional independence, the quality and accessibility of statistical data and the protection of statistical confidentiality.

As part of the visit, the delegation held its first meeting with Azer Mursagulov, Chairman of the State Statistical Committee.

During the meeting, the Chairman provided a comprehensive overview of the work undertaken to develop the National Statistical System, improve the quality of statistical data and advance digital transformation, as well as the priorities identified for the coming period.

Azer Mursagulov emphasized the importance of the Global Assessment for the future development of the National Statistical System. He noted that the assessment would contribute to analyzing the current situation, identifying areas requiring improvement and planning future activities in a more targeted manner. The Chairman also highlighted the importance attached to cooperation with international experts and stated that the recommendations to be developed would be taken into account in future activities.

Marko Kristof, Head of the delegation, stated that the assessment would be conducted in accordance with European standards and that recommendations aimed at further developing the National Statistical System would be formulated based on its findings.

Meetings with other producers of official statistics, government institutions, international organizations, academia and media representatives are also planned as part of the Global Assessment.

It should be noted that the previous Global Assessment in Azerbaijan was conducted in     2016–2017.