Speech by H.E. Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, to Officially Launch ASEANstats

Delivered by Mr Anish Kumar Roy, Director for Community Affairs Development Directorate, ASEAN Secretariat

"Building Knowledge in the ASEAN Community"

Your Excellency Julian Wilson, Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN,
Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors and representatives of ASEAN Member States and our partner nations,
Heads/representatives of national statistical authorities of the ASEAN Member States,
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good morning.

On behalf of the ASEAN Secretariat, I would like to thank you all for joining us today on the launch of ASEANstats, our new and expanded statistical service. The establishment of ASEANstats is a new milestone in putting the ASEAN framework of statistics into practice.

Almost twelve years ago, in October 1997 to be exact, in this same building, the first meeting of the ASEAN Heads of Statistical Offices (AHSOM) was convened, marking the beginning of the ASEAN Cooperation in Statistics. Following this, the ASEAN Secretariat created a modest Statistics Unit to support this relatively new area of regional cooperation and to compile regional statistics in support of ASEAN initiatives.

I am happy to inform you that over the years, regional cooperation in statistics has strengthened considerably enabling a wide range of statistics and information to be collated and published on a regular basis. Undoubtedly, regional cooperation in statistics has contributed towards building a sound knowledge bank on ASEAN. This augurs well as ASEAN moves towards further strengthening its community building efforts under the new ASEAN Charter.

The ASEAN Community: The New Order

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

With the ASEAN Charter, we see ASEAN as an economic community with practically no barriers, where a single market and production base allows goods and services to be traded freely and competitively within the region, where financial systems are strong and reliable, and where there is sustained growth of industries and infrastructure.

From another view, the same vision shows ASEAN as an integrated socio-cultural community, where diverse peoples, societies and cultures are bound by a common identity, and with greater understanding of one another, where human development is of foremost priority, where rights and the welfare of children, women and men alike are protected and promoted, and where biodiversity is nurtured and sustained.

Further on, from a political and security angle, we see ASEAN as a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region, with established rules and shared values and norms, where member states share responsibility for comprehensive security, and which constantly strives to stay dynamic and outwardlooking.

Regardless which angle we look from, we see an ASEAN Community where gaps, imbalances and deficiencies are minimized and where the fruits of progress are equitably shared among peoples and societies.

Ideals and aspirations they may be for now, but we are optimistic that in time they will become realities. ASEAN has gained significant headway in many areas. With the ASEAN Charter and the Roadmap for the ASEAN Community , ASEAN has further geared up to face the challenges and achieve its vision of an ASEAN Community.

Challenges

But how do we get there? How do we know if we are getting there? How do we know how close we are? There may be many other questions, some with real answers, some with none. This is where the importance of knowledge comes in. We need knowledge to help us answer these questions.

We need adequate evidence that indeed ASEAN economies are converging, trade is expanding, investment is sustained, and financial systems are stable and enabling.

We need accurate and reliable information to be able to say that poverty is in fact being reduced, that the impact of disease outbreaks is contained, that the effects of disasters on lives and property are quickly monitored and managed, or that environment degradation and protection are periodically evaluated.

We need knowledge to help identify problems, and to give us measures of growth and progress as well as gaps and deficiencies so that we can adjust our policies and interventions, think of new measures and approaches, and mobilize resources, if necessary.

We believe that statistics constitutes a significant part of the body of knowledge that ASEAN needs to assist in the creation of sound policies that will accelerate integration and development. Further, it will enable us to better monitor and measure the impact and progress of ASEAN towards the attainment of community and societal goals, as well as in imbibing the ASEAN identity among its people and gaining prominence for ASEAN at the global level.

The demand for statistics is certainly here, however, regular supply of statistics remains a challenge. The ASEAN Secretariat is increasingly being expected to contribute more in bridging this gap between what is needed and what is available. While ASEAN Member States have continuously supported the ASEAN Cooperation in Statistics, we are aware of the challenges in terms of capacity, resources, and political mandate faced by national statistical authorities, in many instances, limiting the recurrent supply of quality and comparable statistics for ASEAN purposes.

Strengthening the national statistical systems is therefore crucial. Statistical capacity development at the regional and national levels has to be viewed as an important investment towards improving knowledge, facilitating informed decision, and promoting the ASEAN identity. Recognising this, in particular for stronger and more reliable economic and financial surveillance following the financial crisis, ASEAN has created a new unit in the ASEAN Secretariat for economic and financial surveillance.

ASEANstats: Building Knowledge in the ASEAN Community

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

The launching of ASEANstats is the ASEAN Secretariat’s pro-active response primarily to help address the need for timely, relevant, comparable and good quality ASEAN statistics. The ASEAN Secretariat will continue strengthening ASEANstats to build greater recognition as the authoritative source of quality and comparable ASEAN statistics and as an important contributor to knowledge building for and about the ASEAN Community.

The ASEAN Secretariat has also been expected to take a leading role in the harmonisation of statistics in the region. Through ASEANstats, we accept and take on the challenge. We will work with the national authorities and international community to initiate, promote and pursue harmonisation of ASEAN statistics, and continue to advocate for and facilitate capacity building towards a strengthened ASEAN statistical system.

All these are in fact very much in line with the ASEAN Secretariat’s mission to become the nerve center towards attaining the vision of an ASEAN Community.

Acknowledgments

It has been a progressive journey and today as we launch ASEANstats, it is yet another milestone in building the knowledge bank of ASEAN. We have many people to thank for bringing us to this important juncture.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the European Union for their commitment and assistance in strengthening ASEAN statistics, and ASEANstats in particular through the EU-ASEAN Statistical Capacity Building Programme.

I would also like to express our deepest appreciation to our dialogue partners and the international community for their technical cooperation and assistance in developing relevant ASEAN statistics, such as the Australia, Japan, and US, the UN and UNESCAP Statistics Divisions, UNDP, ADB, IMF, and ILO.

I would like to make a special note of thanks to the Government of Singapore for their generous contribution in the improvement of the ASEANstats office.

And last but not the least, we extend our deepest appreciation to the ASEAN national statistical authorities and other national data producing institutions, and the ASEAN Heads of Statistical Offices Meeting, for their continued partnership, cooperation, and contribution to making data available for ASEAN Community and its stakeholders.

Concluding Statement

With your continued support and commitment, we are confident that ASEANstats can contribute to promoting a new culture in ASEAN, that of building knowledge for and about the ASEAN Community.