Statistics International Cooperation has left a profound impact on the development of the National Statistics System and has contributed, in a decisive way, so that today we can proudly have a system that works, apart from the existing difficulties, and has been satisfactorily responding to demands. Above all, the National Institute of Statistics, the central organ of the Statistics System, has been able to realize major statistics projects, thanks to the technical and financial support from our international partners, as well as through the training we have received from their staff in our areas of interest.
Presently, with the new international dispensation, there are new areas of cooperation priorities, imposed on NIS to reflect on its role with regards statistics cooperation and map out strategic policies of cooperation. We are slowly moving from a role which could be considered as exclusive “receptor” of actions of cooperation to gaining prominence in exercising a more active role in international cooperation.
Technical cooperation embraces mainly the improvement of techno-institutional capacity in different areas which is noticeable in the established relations with partner institutions in the transmission of technical knowledge, encompassing the exchange and development of know-how, the development of technical expertise as a way to construct capacities for the production and use of statistics.
In this context, we highlight the important role of bilateral cooperation with some statistics institutions. These include, Portugal (INE), Spain (INE), Brazil (IBGE), Luxembourg (STAEC), The Canary Islands (ISTAC), Peru (INEI), Italy (ISTAT), The High Commission of Plan of Morocco, among others.
The cooperation with the Portuguese Speaking countries (CPLP in Portuguese) has a very important place at NIS, especially as it has enormously contributed to the development of statistics in various areas, namely, legislation, planning, classifications, concepts and nomenclatures, statistics infrastructures, statistics production, where the consumer price index (CPI), census mapping, population census and national accounts are emphasized.
NIS (INE in Portuguese) equally counts on the financial partnership in statistics production with organisations such as the United Nations, the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the Luxembourg Cooperation, the Spanish Cooperation and the European Union.
In 2015, the 46th Session of the United Nations Statistics Commission approved the creation of the Praia Group in Governance Statistics where Praia became the centre of world statistics discussions at Governance Statistics level for the next five years. It is to be reiterated that a City Group is a platform of experts who work on the methodology of a particular theme, and is protected by the United Nations Statistics Commission.
In this same year, with the purpose of creating and monitoring of a table of global indicators for the supervision of objectives and goals of the Agenda of Post-2015 Development, NIS was invited to be part of the Inter Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals (IAEG-SDG) due to the link with the Praia Group to the 16 Sustainable Development Objective. The Secretariat is guaranteed by the United Nations Statistics Division and has 28 members, NISCV (INECV in Portuguese) is one the members.