1. ICP Regional Coordinators Meeting 1

2. 1. The regional activities Following the release of the final regional 2011 ICP results in February 2014, the Western Asia Regional Office (RO) conducted the following activities:  The development of an innovative exercise for the computation of PPP estimates for the years 2012 and 2013 using methods developed by the Regional Office;  A regional workshop in Turkey – Istanbul to validate the produced price and national accounts data, and the release of the final PPP estimates for the years 2012 and 2013;  The development of a special national project for the production of regular annual subnational PPPs for specific countries including Egypt, UAE and Sudan;  Three national workshops for the NSO of UAE:  1- July 2014 for proposing the project and discussing the suggested methodology and project requirements on all aspects;  2- December 2014 for launching the project and starting the training of the 7 local offices on the requirements of the national accounts weights and the necessity of having GDP expenditure broken down to 155 BH levels at the emirate level;  3- May 2015 for launching the price data collection in 2015, developing the product lists for each of the HHC and special surveys, and training the local statistical offices and the main national one on the use of the ICP kit in its different modules; 2

3. 1. The regional activities (Cont’d)  A national workshop for the NSO of Egypt:  1- June 2014 for proposing the national project and discussing the suggested methodology and project requirements on all aspects;  A mission to Egypt in February 2015 to startup the required activities of the national project and agree on tentative milestones and deadlines for a timely implementation and parallel price and national accounts activities;  A mission to Sudan to conduct a national ministerial conference for the release of the 2011 ICP results and the 2012 & 2013 PPP estimates, followed by a national workshop for the NSO of Sudan for proposing the implementation of a national project for the computation of sub-national PPPs;  Production of two special editions of the WA ICP Newsletters; the first edition featured highlights from the Final Regional ICP Workshop when releasing the 2011 final results and ICP booklet, while the second edition featured highlights from the regional workshop for the computation of 2012 and 2013 PPP estimates; 3

4. All the post 2011 Round activities in Western Asia Region originated from Sustain the capacity building benefits and capitalize on the experiences gained in the 2011 ICP Round, through the harmonization of price statistics and National Accounts activities and the production of regular PPP estimates in Western Asia region. 4

5. However, achieving this vision at the regional level is not as simple as one might hope, given the economical diversity of countries involved, the unpredictable and unstable situation at some countries, the scarcity of financial resources, and the scarcity of human resources at the regional office. The process is very demanding and requires dedication and massive efforts and will from both the Regional Office and the National Statistical Offices. 5

6. Thus, below is the outline of On the Short Term: Provide a smooth transition between ICP Rounds by implementing interim activities and producing PPP estimates. On the Medium Term: Integrate the ICP with national CPI and National Accounts activities and produce regular annual sub-national PPPs for countries where applicable. On the Long Term: Produce sub-regional and regional PPPs on a regular basis through the harmonization of Price Statistics and National Accounts Activities. 6

7. The Regional ICP Report  The Final Regional Report: “Purchasing Power Parities and the Real Size of Western Asia Economies” 7

8. The regional ICP Report (Cont’d) A Comprehensive Report of the 2011 Round of the International Comparison Program in Western Asia Region: Chapter 1: Background Chapter 2: Price Comparison Results of the 2011 Round Chapter 3: ICP 2011 - A Round of Innovation Chapter 4: Price Comparison Results of 2012 and 2013 Chapter 5: Annexes 8