A workshop to discuss how to build a suitable national statistics council model in Vietnam was held in Hanoi on December 10 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme.

Speaking at the event, MoPI Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Trung said the policy of the national statistics council will be one of an instrument to help implement effectively the general statistics system between ministries, sectors and localities.

Almost 100 countries across the world have established their own national statistics councils to provide consulting services and promote national coordination in the field, he said, adding that the policy is a good consultation mechanism for Vietnam’s statistics sector to further integrate into the international statistics community.

Bakhodir Burkhanov, UNDP Vice Chief Representative in Vietnam, suggested Vietnam deploys the policy consistently to realise its national statistics goal.

He affirmed that the UNDP will assist Vietnam in building the national system as well as renovating its regulations in the field suitable for Vietnam’s conditions, thus ensuring quality and the effectiveness of its statistical activities in accordance with international rules.

After 10 years of implementing the Law on Statistics, apart from positive aspects, the law still shows limitations that need to be amended and supplemented to comply with the reality and existing legal environment in Vietnam.

Sharing its experience, a representative from India’s statistics agency gave recommendations, saying that Vietnam’s statistics council can be established to provide advice to the government on statistics-related issues, while being responsible for implementing statistical audits.

Representatives from Vietnam’s Statistics Office said experience shared at the workshop will be a useful reference for Vietnam to consider carefully the establishment of a Vietnamese National Statistics Council in the future.-VNA