RAMALLAH, November 8, 2017 (WAFA) – For the first time, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics hosted on Tuesday the meeting of the members of the United Nations High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for statistics for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said during the meeting, “Palestine is suffering from the exceptional conditions resulting from the continuation of the Israeli occupation. Facing this challenge, we are determined to achieve sustainable development by investing in the talents and capabilities of our people, especially our youth, who constitute almost half of the Palestinian society.”
“This meeting reflects our determination to fully realize the goals of the 2030 agenda and to implement it fully. I truly commend your great efforts for achieving the sustainable development. Palestine hosted this meeting to reaffirm our commitment toward achieving the sustainable development goals," Hamdallah added.
The prime minister said in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, the Palestinian government‘s strategy focuses on the full participation of the private and public sectors in defining the national priorities, with particular attention to planning, projects implementation and designing of interventions.
He praised the efforts of the United Nations agencies as well as the international organizations towards supporting the implementation of the development plans that are being implemented in full coordination with the Palestinian government.
He continued, “In the spirit of this cooperation, our government works to submit a voluntary report to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2018. In order to meet this obligation among others, we have formed a national team which is headed by the Prime Minister‘s Office to monitor and review the whole progress, and ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals are integrated within the National Policy Agenda.”
Hamdallah concluded his speech stating that, “Palestine currently undertakes its Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017. This census is the proper vehicle for providing the needed data for effective planning and the integration of the demographic indicators to the overall development planning process in Palestine. This census comes at the time to establish a solid baseline for progressing our National Policy Agenda.”
The meeting was held at the Prime Minister‘s Office in Ramallah, in the presence of Ola Awad, President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Gabriella Vukovich, President of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the United Nations Statistics Division along with the heads of 23 national statistical offices worldwide, in addition to a number of representatives of regional and international organizations and observers.
M.N
