H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah: The UN Provides One of the Best Platforms in the World to Share Knowledge, Experiences, and Best Practices on Data and Statistics.

New York, Dubai, 16 March 2019:

As part of the UAE participation in the meetings of the fiftieth session of the International Statistical Committee at United Nations Headquarters in New York, H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, the Director-General of the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics (FCSA) and the Head of the UAE Delegation held a meeting with HE Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations to discuss the UN SDGs and the opportunities for enhancing cooperation efforts to achieve them.

During the meeting, the officials tackled many related topics, while focusing on the latest technology trends, strategic partnerships, the centrality of the role of youth and the importance of supporting the implementation of data-based sustainable development initiatives around the world.

H.E. Lootah showcased the UAE’s experience and experiments in this field and shed a spotlight on the State’s efforts at the local and international levels to achieve the SDGs, including hosting the second session of the United Nations Global Data Forum in October 2018. The international event was considered as an additional opportunity to meet with stakeholders and focus on how to harness the power of data to serve humanity.

On this occasion, HE Amina Mohammed said: “I am delighted to meet again with the UAE delegation and members of the FCSA. The UAE has always been a committed member of supporting global efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, and the presence of a large team of officials at the meeting of the Fiftieth Session of the International Statistical Committee highlights the deep faith of UAE leadership in the vital role that data can do to achieve a prosperous future.”

On his side, Lootah pointed out: “The United Nations World Data Forum has established a strong and long-term relationship between statistics and data workers in the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations, specifically the International Statistical Committee. Communication and active participation among experts, private sector bodies, private sector companies, and social organizations around the world are the only way through which we can share experiences and innovations that support countries in their quest to achieve or exceed the goals of sustainable development.”

He added: “Today, we are here in New York to promote the commitment that everyone in this world, regardless where they live, can live a life free of poverty, hunger, and disease.”

It is worth mentioning that the International Committee of Statistics (ICS) comprises leading statistical experts from UN member states, and it is the highest decision-making body on international statistical activities.

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General Secretariat of the National Committee on SDGs Launches First Report on Private Sector Sustainability Initiatives in UAE

Dubai, UAE- 18 August 2019

The Secretariat of the National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals launched the first report on private sector initiatives for sustainability in UAE titled "Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in the UAE: Private Sector Contributions." Global Strategy Consulting firm, Oliver Wyman developed the report in partnership with the Private Sector Advisory Council on SDGs (PSAC) founded by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA).

The report sheds a spotlight on the efforts exerted by the National Committee on SDGs to serve as a platform for coordination and partnerships through PSAC. It also focuses on the role of private companies in achieving SDGs by means of sharing ideas and practices on the key opportunities and challenges that companies face in their efforts to implement the UAE Agenda 2030.

The initiatives cover various sectors, including renewable energy, real estate, retail, aviation and land, and sea transport services. These initiatives have contributed to the UAE’s efforts to promote sustainability within the private sector and make progress towards achieving the 2030 global agenda of sustainability.

H.E. Abdullah Lootah, Director General of FCSA and Vice-Chair of the National Committee on SDGs and Chair of the PSAC on SDGs, stated: "At a time of multiple drastic and relentless economic, social and technological changes experienced by the world, the public and private sectors partnerships and the achievement of sustainable progress and prosperity for the society of UAE become essential. Based on the initiatives and experiences presented by the report, the UAE has turned out to be a global role model in the governance of SDGs and harnessing the innovative partnerships between the public and private sectors to achieve them."

The report also reviews notable initiatives adopted by the National Committee on SDGs in UAE. The committee is the government team in charge of implementing the 17 SDGs in the UAE and was formed in January 2017 and chaired by Her Excellency Reem Bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation. The committee’s members include 17 federal level government authorities who agreed on a road map for the year 2030. The road map focuses on four key stages, including raising awareness, establishing the foundations, developing policies, reporting the progress achieved, and monitoring the performance.

Greg Rung, Partner at Oliver Wyman, stated: "The ongoing cooperation between the UAE government and the private sector is crucial in boosting the country’s efforts to implement the United Nation’s 17 SDGs successfully."

"Oliver Wyman is proud to collaborate with PSAC for producing this report and partner with the entity to support the UAE government in its commitment to successfully achieving a prosperous and sustainable future for all," added Rung.

Members of PSAC have also drafted a consultative framework used as a formal mechanism to engage the private sector in UAE and move forward in achieving UAE Agenda 2030. Additionally, PSAC developed a strategy to engage the youth, to ensure that development is not only for the youth but also for and through them to further promote and increase their positive contributions as agents of change.

H.E. Abdullah Lootah concluded his statement by stating: "Recognizing that the implementation of SDGs could only get ahead by involving all relevant stakeholders from different government and private sectors, we have pooled resources with the Oliver Wyman team to prepare this important report with sights set to shed light on the efforts of the private sector as a strategic partner of the UAE government. I am proud of the commitment of the members of PSAC and their contributions to supporting the sustainability process in UAE, and the dissemination of such UAE experiences to the global community."

The report showcases the most important sustainability initiatives developed by 12 national and international companies operating in UAE, namely: Dubai Holding Company, Careem, Majid Al Futtaim Group, DP World, EMAAR Group, Al Serkal Group, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates Airline, Multinational Companies Business Group, Dubai Free Zones Council and MASDAR Group.

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Completion of over 50% of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey-2019 Project

Dubai, 17 July 2019

The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) recently announced the completion of over 50% of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey-2019 project.

More than 50% of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey-2019 project have been concluded, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) has recently announced.

The project witnessed a participation of a sample of 20,500 households distributed across all the seven emirates of the UAE. It is being conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Community Development (MoCD) and local statistics centers.

Recent statistics data collected by the management team show that 89% of the sample contacted (9628) participated in the Household Income and Expenditure Survey-2019.

Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, highlighted the importance of households’ participation in this integral project. “The implementation of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey Project is aligned with the strategic goals of the MoCD. This project was developed to meet the directives of our wise leadership in sustaining economic development and social growth for all UAE residents.”

Her Excellency added: “The results of the survey are one of the pillars supporting the implementation of the quality of life strategy in the UAE based on accurate and up-to-date data reflecting the current realities of households’ income and expenditure in UAE. Such data is meant to be a knowledge base that makes it possible for decision-makers to develop informed social policies and launch initiatives. This project also promotes collaboration between government entities and private sector institutions to further improve the living standards of individuals and households in several aspects, most importantly education, health, and housing. Such achievements are substantial proofs that the UAE is moving forward on the right track to be the “home of happiness”.

Her Excellency pointed out: “We are proud of the work achieved by the survey team thus far, considering the set plan in terms of time and achievement. I want to thank all the professionals and administrators involved in this project and commend the efforts of the households who cooperated in providing data; helping achieve the survey targets.”

Confirming the efficiency of the survey activities being conducted as per the timeline of the project, H.E. Abdullah Lootah, FCSA Director-General, highlighted that the survey team involved almost 450 researchers, observers, supervisors, experts, technicians, and administrators in partnership with local statistics centers. He also indicated that this is over and above the FCSA administrative teams and local statistics centers that provide the human and technical capabilities to support the project team.

He hailed all the efforts exerted by all teams under hard conditions. “I avail this opportunity to thank all teams for their devotion and dedication, particularly the field teams who sometimes were obliged to work under severe weather conditions,” Lootah said.

On the participation of households, he said: “I look forward to seeing a greater interaction from all households contacted by the field survey teams, and more cooperation in providing accurate data to the teams. Our teams strongly believe the importance of the survey’s success and usefulness to everyone who lives in the UAE. They are working round the clock tirelessly to ensure the completion of the project according to the timeline.

Qualified Teams

In addition to the FCSA administrative teams and the local statistics centers that provide the human and technical capabilities to the work team, a group of observers, supervisors, researchers, is conducting the survey and experts distributed across all the emirates. All field teams have undergone intensive training, to be equipped with latest advanced field tools and methodologies such as geo-spatial positioning systems, mobile applications on handheld devices, and other advanced techniques and modern statistical methods to ensure accuracy and quality of results.

The survey will help extract more than 115 key indicators, such as the basket of goods and services, consumer price indices, cost of living index, and price indices to help assess the standard of living of families.

The survey also provides updated data on the demographics, social, and economic characteristics of individuals and households in the UAE, which help in linking them to income and expenditure indicators. The survey will help update the base years of statistical indicators of inflation rates considering that the periodicity of survey implementation extends to five years, and provides seasonal coverage of households’ income and expenditure rates.

Moreover, the survey aims to provide a wide range of data and information to help decision-makers plan and develop informed initiatives and programs by examining various living standards and measuring the level of well-being and quality of life in the UAE.

This survey helps to identify behavior and patterns of the individuals’ consumption and changes in consumption patterns due to a change in their income. It also aims to provide relevant and most recent data that serves the demographic, social, and​ economic aspects. Likewise, it also aims to provide data that sheds a spotlight on the most critical indicators of consumption patterns, along with the social and economic conditions of the different segments of the UAE society.

The size and distribution of the sample were designed following the appropriate statistical and scientific methodologies by teams of experts in FCSA and local statistics centers to ensure achieving high levels of accuracy. The sample was distributed across the seven emirates by using the sampling method proportional to the size of the number of the Emirati and Non-Emirati households in each emirate.

The Most Important Survey

The Household Income and Expenditure Survey is one of the most important international surveys in the statistics system. It is the biggest and most comprehensive survey after the National Census Survey in terms of significance and data availability. This survey has been designed to measure a large number of indicators that reflect the social and economic levels of households, Results of this survey will assist decision-makers to draft development and economic policies and plans intended for improving the standards of living and achieving stability and prosperity.

In a step to affirm the UAE’s strenuous efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the international and local levels, H.E. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, held a meeting with H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) and Deputy Chairman of the UAE’s National Committee on SDGs, leading a delegation representing the UAE to discuss the SDGs and opportunities to enhance cooperation efforts to achieve them.

The attendees tackled several relevant topics on SDGs while focusing on the state-of-the-art technical trends, strategic partnerships, the youth’s pivotal role, and the importance of supporting the implementation of data-based sustainable development initiatives around the world.

In this connection, H.E. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation Affairs and Chairperson of the National Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals hailed the UAE Government efforts at the international and local levels to achieve the SDGs 2030.

“The UAE’s commitment to supporting global efforts to achieve SDGs is entirely consistent with the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul in peace, to build a sustainable future for future generations. This legacy is based on the optimal management of our resources to serve the best interest of the UAE’s development and prosperity and the world at large,” H.E. Reem stated.

H.E. Al Hashemi added: “Supporting the SDGs has been a fundamental pillar of the UAE journey that started generations ago. This has established its position as a role model in development and prosperity and creating a better future for generations to come. Today, the UAE is taking the lead in combining development policies and strategies with these global goals.”

H.E. Amina Mohammed stated, "It gives me an eminent pleasure to meet again with the UAE delegation. The UAE has always been a UN member committed to supporting global efforts to achieve SDGs. It is such a meeting to help highlight the extent of UAE leadership’s belief in the active role of coordination and consultation at the international level to achieve a prosperous future for the generations to come.

H.E. Amina said: “We are pleased with the United Nations to exchange expertise, experiences, and data with the UAE delegation. Indeed, the UAE is leading the efforts dedicated to adopting innovation and technology to achieve the SDGs.”

On his part, Lootah stated: “We are visiting New York to emphasize our commitment that every person in this world, no matter where he or she lives, could live a life free from poverty, hunger, and disease.”

H.E. Lootah highlighted the role of public and private sectors and organizations in this process by saying: “Effective communication and participation between experts in international organizations and public and private sectors all over the world, are the way that would enable us to share experiences and innovations designed to support countries in their journey to achieving the SDGs.”

“These meetings are a genuine opportunity to discuss visions and ideas that would contribute to promoting dialogue and partnerships at the international level to proceed with the journey to achieve the SDGs,” H.E. Lootah added.

During the meeting, H.E. Lootah reviewed with the Deputy Secretary-General the efforts made by UAE globally to raise awareness on SDGs. They also discussed other topics including the UAE SDG Photography Award organized by the UAE National Committee on SDGs, in partnership with the Hamdan bin Mohammad Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), in addition to the mobile exhibitions organized for the winning photos in the most critical events sites that attract a broad audience. They agreed that such activities would boost up the UAE’s reputation as a global contributor committed to implementing and raising awareness on the global goals of sustainable development. The delegation presented a copy of the Photography Award Book to H.E. the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, who praised the efforts made by the UAE to raise awareness on SDGs.

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