This week, a high-level delegation from the Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) in the United Arab Emirates is visiting Estonia and Statistics Estonia. The purpose of the visit is to further strengthen the collaboration in the field of statistics to develop and improve activities related to data-based policy making intended to fulfill the national strategic goals. 

SCAD’s interest lies in the production of register-based statistics and in building the relevant systems for it. The visit is prompted by Estonia’s recent successful register-based census. 

Both institutions are confident the visit will lead to a long-term and mutually beneficial collaboration. This was evident as a Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the visit.

According to the Director General of Statistics Estonia, Urmet Lee, both sides have discussed means to boost cooperation and exchange knowledge in areas such as data protection, digital transformation, and development of statistical methodologies.

“I am sure that we at Statistics Estonia can benefit from SCAD’s experience in using technology in the production of statistics. In addition, we welcome the possibility of sharing our experience in register-based statistics production and especially of carrying out the latest census with our colleagues in Abu Dhabi,” says Mr Lee.

For his part, HE Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, Director General of SCAD, said: “SCAD aspires to implement world class standards in all aspects of its statistical work by exploring the best practices and other experiences. In our strategic partnership with Statistics Estonia, we had the opportunity to explore success stories and share knowledge to leverage from our combined experience.”

“During our visit, we got to know more about how Statistics Estonia managed a successful register-based census. Likewise, we have embarked on a high-quality census in Abu Dhabi that would take advantage of a fully digital government. This would be amplified by the ambitions of the digital transformation movement in Abu Dhabi which provides advanced digital infrastructure and smart services that pave our way to a maximum use of register-based data and technological capabilities.” 

Another important aim for SCAD is to create a relationship with the Estonian academia by visiting the University of Tartu. They intend to initiate a methodological and training exchange between the organisations. SCAD visited Estonian ministries to explore the management of Estonian public registers and our data ecosystem. They also met the Data Protection Inspectorate and companies operating in the field of IT and data governance.

The statistics driven visit of the Statistics Centre − Abu Dhabi has been made possible by the e-Governance Academy.