International Relations
IBGE signs cooperation agreements with Mexico and European Union
June 26, 2018 10h00 AM | Last Updated: September 13, 2018 03h43 PM
Represented by President Roberto Olinto, the IBGE signed technical cooperation agreements last week with the statistical offices of Mexico (INEGI) and European Union (Eurostat). The agreements were formalized between the 66th Plenary Session of the Conference of European Statisticians - CES and the 15th Session of the Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - CSSP-OECD.
"Those partnerships are part of the international insertion of the IBGE. We have more than 20 partnerships with statistical offices from other countries", explained Roberto Sant´Anna, IBGE´s Adviser of International Relations.
The cooperation with the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía de México - INEGI was signed in the presence of Julio Santaella, president of the Mexican Institute. The agreement aims at exchanging experiences of the integration between statistics and geography, an aspect that both institutions are references in the world.
"The President of INEGI suggested the partnership in a meeting, which was promptly accepted. It is a very important partnership, as Mexico stands out in Latin America and is a member of the OECD, a process that Brazil is underway. And the fact that Mexico is the other big country in the world that joins statistics and geography makes us leaders in this matter. Whenever that integration is discussed, two players are key: IBGE and INEGI", explains Sant´Anna.
The commitment involves the exchange of knowledge in areas like operation of the National System of Statistics, censuses, data security and quality, monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals and articulation between geography and statistics, among other practices, by means of advisories, internships, interchanges and training, as well as of the exchange of information in general.
European Union leads methodological discussion
While Mexico has an important role in the discussion on the integration between statistics and geography, the partnership with the Statistical Office of the European Union - Eurostat aims at the exchange of information on the establishment of a legal milestone for statistics, as well as it is a leader in the discussion on methodology in surveys.
"The conceptual milestone, the statistical law is the major reason to look for Eurostat. Eurostat is a key player in this area. They proposed a modern and up-to-date statistical law for the European Union, which is currently being discussed. Besides other benefits, since they are in the frontline of the methodological matter", explains Sant´Anna.
Marina Kotzeva, Director-General of Eurostat, was present at the signing ceremony. The agreement aims at fostering the coordination and cooperation in the development of official statistics, improving the exchange of statistical services and supporting and fostering the best practices in the official statistics, by means of the interchange of statistical information.
"We have other partnerships with a number of countries, mainly from Latin America and Africa. The major highlights are the partnerships in the census area. The reference centers in Africa show the importance of those partnerships, which follow the recommendations of the federal administration. The idea is to look for more partnerships and cooperation in every area. We are not alone in this world, we will advance through those partnerships", concludes Sant´Anna.
