Representatives from China and Indonesia, the president of the IBGE Marcio Pochmann and the head of International Relations at the IBGE (GRI), Andrea Diniz da Silva, participated, on Thursday afternoon (12) in the closing panel of BRICS, plenary session at the Events Center of Ceará, in Fortaleza, streamed through Digital IBGE and the social media channels of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.

The Triple Forum was organized by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in cooperation with the State Government of Ceará, from June 11 to 13, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), do Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB),  United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Ceará Without Hunger, Company of Participation and Assets Management of Ceará S.A. (Ceará Par), Secretariat of Tourism of Ceará, National Secretariat of Youth - General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic and other partners.

Marcio Pochmann, president of the IBGE, highlighted that this Triple Forum “has increased the level of convergence and coherence among the BRICS countries, through the work of statistics. Statistics have been facing a major challenge, due to the emergence of other institutions that produce data, through big techs, but at the same time, we have the possibility of producing more and better information through the use of new technologies. It is important to create a large International Center for the BRICS focused on improving the qualifications of the employees engaged in the statistical institutes of the countries of this bloc”.

Pochmann also mentioned the creation of the BRICS Observatory, which can offer an “increasingly joint vision, and become the basis through which it will be possible to better understand the eleven countries that make up the BRICS.”

Mao Shengyong, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, praised the meeting and its results. “We want this not to stop here and to keep in contact, as we understand that the BRICS countries must have good communication in harmony, working towards a common goal. China has several plans for the future and, within the global scenario, we want to exert influence on competitiveness and development in the world. Our goal at present is to maintain a partnership with other countries and their respective statistical institutes,” Shengyong explained.

Amalia Adininggar, Senior Advisor to the Minister of National Development Planning for Economy and Finance at the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas of the Republic of Indonesia, thanked the IBGE for the invitation to the Triple International Forum. “These were days of fruitful discussions focusing on how national statistical offices can contribute to new opportunities and challenges in the Digital Age, and throughout this period, we could demonstrate our commitment to the development of new indicators in the digital age and to the balance traditional operations and technology,” Adininggar emphasized.