Abu Dhabi, Feb 26th, 2012 (WAM)--Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Statistics Centre (DSC), with the aim of strengthening joint cooperation and coordination between the two sides in various technical and research areas.

The deal aims to contribute towards building an integrated national statistical system that adequately meets the needs of users in topics of common interest.

The MoU was signed at the headquarters of Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi by Butti Ahmed Mohammed bin Butti Al Qubaisi, Director General of SCAD and Arif Obaid Al Muhairi, CEO of DSC; and attended by a number of executive directors and senior officials from both sides.

SCAD and DSC welcomed the opportunity to foster closer ties in all areas of statistical work, share relevant information and organize joint events and activities; and agreed to form a joint committee to develop mechanisms for implementing the memorandum and determining methods of communication.

The two centres remarked that the memorandum provides for the exchange of all means of mutual technical support on the development and application of work methodologies in compliance with standard international classifications and definitions in such aspects as the design of survey questionnaires and the methods and tools used in the collection of statistical data. They also agreed to share expertise to support all departments of two centres with technical advice and information of interest in building databases.

Under the MoU, the parties will also share promotional and awareness materials, exchange invitations to conferences, seminars and workshops, regularly exchange of information, statistics, research, reports and agreements related to their activities, carry out joint studies and surveys and cooperate in the field of statistical training, in addition to posting information and hyperlinks about each other on their respective websites.

Al Qubaisi pointed out that SCAD is the official authority responsible for collection, classification, storage, analysis and dissemination of official statistics and the release of the results of social, demographic, economic, environmental and cultural, surveys in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

SCADs Director General renewed the Centre's desire to engage in full cooperation with government, semi-government and private agencies, adding that the Centre plans to bring the number of SLAs and cooperation agreements signed with various entities to 43 agreements.

For his part, Arif Obaid Al Muhairi, CEO of Dubai Statistics Center remarked that DSC and SCAD both seek to develop and implement effective methods to improve the methods of data collection, management and use, adding the two centres, will be working together on ways to share information and create state-of-the-art and up-to-date databases.

Al Muhairi reckons the agreement would prove very instrumental in monitoring the domestic market in the UAE through the updated official statistics that SCAD and the DSC provide, being the official statistical bodies responsible for the collection and dissemination of statistical data in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2012.