The Saudi Ministry of Finance, represented by the Government Finance Statistics Development Committee, launched a training program on “Government Finance Statistics: Preparation, Publication Standards, and Economic Analysis," in collaboration with the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The program will be attended by 45 participants from various Saudi and GCC government entities, from 28 April to 9 May 2024, in Jeddah.
The program reflects joint Arab action and aims to familiarize participants with the methods of collecting, preparing, and presenting government finance statistics for economic analysis. It will also provide guidance on designing economic policies, as well as on the approved Government Finance Statistics Manual issued by the IMF.
The Saudi Deputy Minister of Finance for Financial Affairs & Accounts, Chairman of the Government Finance Statistics Development Committee Mr. Hamad Alkanhal, said that the training program targets employees of a number of government entities in Saudi Arabia, as well as various employees of ministries of finance and central banks in the GCC states. He also noted that the training program aims at raising the capabilities of their employees, and is part of the Saudi Ministry of Finance's efforts to support national capacities in the financial and economic fields to strengthen cooperation with the GCC states, and to leverage Saudi Arabia's successful experiences in these fields.
The program covers the basic principles of SDDS implementation, public debt management, data reporting to international financial organizations and institutions, in addition to covering the recommendations of the G20 New Data Gap Initiative (NEW-DGI), Data Gap II (DGI-2), and the Human Capital Index (HCI). The program will also highlight the main challenges facing the creators and users of these statistics.
The program agenda includes several lectures, interspersed with practical studies of several cases, as well as group work for the participants, under the supervision and assessment of a group of lecturers from both the IMF and AMF.