1. Central America Statistical Commission, CENTROESTAD PARIS21 Forum Reinforcing Statistical Cooperation at the Regional Level to Support Sustainable Development 5-6 October 2015, Room CC6 OECD Conference Center, Paris France Session 2: South – south learning on regional statistical cooperation

2. Presentation Content CENTROESTAD: constitution, objetives and operation Process of RSDS (ERDE) for countries member of CENTROESTAD. Level of complimentarity between NSDS and RSDS What can be accomplished at an RSDS but not on an NSDS Statistical priorities of countries members of SICA at an RSDS and regional compromises at NSDS Conclusion

3. Central America Statistical Commission, CENTROESTAD  The Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers of SICA, aware of the need to strengthen the dynamics of the integration process, by providing reliable, updated and timely regional statistical information, agreed on December 10, 2008, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, constitute the Central America Statistical Commission (CENTROESTAD), integrated by the directors of the National Statistical Offices (or Institutes) of the member countries.

4. Central America Statistical Commission, CENTROESTAD OBJECTIVES  Facilitate the Regional Statistical System development;  Generate updated and timely regional statistical information, and;  Standardized methodologies and definitions to allow the comparability and aggregation of data of o from the Central American region and Dominican Republic.

5. Central America Statistical Commission, CENTROESTAD OPERATION  CENTROESTAD Constitutive Agreement.  CENTROESTAD Rules of Procedures.  CENTROESTAD, supported by the General Secretariat of SICA (SG-SICA), as the Technical and administrative Secretariat.  Pro Tempore Presidency of SICA (biannual rotation for each NSO).  Forming of Technical Executive Committee and work groups

6. Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS), (ERDE) 2008-2009: Creation and implementation of CENTROESTAD activities 2003: The methodological approach of PARIS21 drives the National Strategy of Statistical Development (NSDS) (ENDE) at the regional countries. 2004-2006 : Central American countries develop NSDS (ENDE) RSDS (ERDE) CENTROESTAD 2010-2011: Elaboration and approval of the roadmap for the formulation of RSDS (ERDE ) NSDS (ENDE) PROJECT 2012-2013: Design and validation of RSDS (ERDE) and its Action Plan 2014: Declaration of Punta Cana: formalization of RSDS (ERDE) and start the negotiations with the international cooperation to execute the Action Plan. BACKGROUND AND DESIGN PROCESS

7. Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS) FORMALIZATION OF RSDS (ERDE)  RSDS was formalized at XLIII Ordinary meeting of Head of State and Government of the Countries Member of the Integration Central America System, SICA, held in Dominican Republic on June 27, 2014.  Agreement 16: “Instruct CENTROESTAD integrated by the National Statistic Offices in coordination with SG SICA, to start ERDE’s Action Plan, implementing the necessary steps to accomplish this goal. We urge the cooperation of international organizations specialized in statistics to support the execution of this initiative”

8. Level of complimentarity between ENDE and ERDE: concrete measures to promote complimentarity  The process of RSDS (ERDE) elaboration lasted two years, it was a process with a lot of participation leaded by the NSO and coordinated by SG SICA with PARIS21and the World Bank’ support. SICA’s Institution also intervened in this process providing statistical information of the regional needs.  The majority of countries members of SICA had their own NSDS (ENDE) when the design of RSDS (ERDE) started; this facilitated the identification and inclusion of national priorities.  Despite the noticeable asymmetries on the development level of the NSO (ONE) and the NES (SEN) of the region, the problems among the countries are relatively similar, which facilitated the consensus of the priorities that needed to be included in the RSDS (ERDE).  The RSDS (ERDE) was approved within the framework of SICA institution and their legal regulations, under their own creation status, which contributed to its clarity on regional priorities and national interests.

9. Level of complimentarity between ENDE and ERDE: concrete measures to promote complimentarity  The regional policies that impulses SICA through its institutionalism are based on the complimentarity principle with the national policies, this same principle is taken by RSDS (ERDE).  The complimentarity is promoted within the framework of biannual ordinary meetings to follow up on the execution of ERDE’s Action Plan.  Although RSDS (ERDE) establishes the regional statistical development horizon for mid-long term, there is flexibility to address the priorities of a country or a group of countries.  The international cooperation in Central America contributes to the complimentary of statistical projects, establishing this principle as an eligibility criterion for technical and financial assistance projects.

10. What can be accomplished at an RSDS (ERDE) but not on an NSDS (ENDE)  RSDS (ERDE) allows compensating the reduction of technical cooperation and financial aid at the national level. The initiative of creating CENTROESTAD emerges from the reduction of bilateral cooperation to the countries. The donors recommended the creation of a regional statistical entity within the framework of the regional integration of SICA, to receive technical and financial assistance.  RSDS (ERDE) generates scale economies to the donors, attracting interest on certain type of statistical projects.  RSDS (ERDE) represents a model of statistical development that becomes a reference for ENDE.  The projects contained in the RSDS (ERDE) have an added value at the national level, because the countries can request financial support stating that the projects are regional priorities.

11. Statistical priorities of countries members of SICA at an RSDS (ERDE) and regional compromises at NSDS (ENDE)  In general, RSDS (ERDE) contemplates the national statistical priorities of NSDS (ENDE), even though not necessarily NSDS (ENDE) includes regional priorities.  The NSO (ONE) are usually willing to establish a general framework of requirements for statistical development at a regional level (there is a culture of cooperation at the Statistics of the Americas Conference of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), however, at the national level the decision makers at NES (SEN) are not always sensitive to regional priorities.

12. Conclusion In the field of NSDS and RSDS, the process of RSDS (ERDE) of CENTROESTAD has been a success, thanks to PARIS21 support.

13. THANK YOU