On 16 September 2025, the 8th Meeting of the Heads of National Statistical Offices (HNSO) of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Member States was held in virtual format, under the Chairmanship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which currently holds the rotating ECO Chairmanship for 2025.
The event brought together senior officials and experts from the national statistical offices of Member States, as well as representatives of the ECO Secretariat, to discuss enhanced regional statistical cooperation and share national developments in official statistics.
The meeting was led by Ms. Gulmira Karaulova, Deputy Head of the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan and was convened under the theme: “Advancing Regional Transport Connectivity and Sustainable Development.” The Kazakh Chair emphasized the critical role of high-quality, harmonized statistics in enabling evidence-based policymaking and monitoring the implementation of regional strategies, including ECO Vision 2025. She underscored Kazakhstan’s commitment to modernizing ECO’s statistical framework and proposed the development of an ECO Statistical Dashboard—a regional digital platform to enhance accessibility, comparability, and real-time visualization of core indicators.
Member States shared their experiences in statistical digitalization, institutional reforms, and capacity development, underlining the need for stronger cooperation, technical assistance, and peer learning. Delegates emphasized the necessity of interoperability, data exchange mechanisms, and alignment with international standards such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The meeting reaffirmed that statistical development is integral not only to monitoring ECO Vision 2025, but also to the formulation of a new post-2025 strategic framework, ensuring continuity, relevance, and adaptability to evolving regional priorities.
The 9th Meeting of the Heads of National Statistical Offices (9HNSO) will take place in 2026 and will be chaired by the Kyrgyz Republic.
