international capital markets, in the provision of their economic and financial data to the public. countries that subscribe to the sdds agree to follow good practices in four areas which include the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of data, public access to those data, data integrity, and data quality. earlier this year, the imf board expanded the scope of the sdds to include seven financial soundness indicators in order to make all stakeholders better understand cross - border linkages, and made it mandatory for participating nations to report international investment positions on a quarterly basis over a transition period of four years. indeed, the sdds is a global benchmark for disseminating macroeconomic data to the public. so far 64 countries have subscribed to the sdds. the gdds, on the other hand, was launched in 1997 for member countries with less developed statistical systems. this system gives member countries a basic framework for a broader national statistical development strategy, addresses the full range of issues critical for compiling and disseminating data, and makes explicit plans for improvement to align national procedures with best practices. until now, the number of participating countries in gdds is 106. both standards share several common features, and have successfully contributed to enhancing the range, quality, and timeliness of country data available to the public. they have also been instrumental in providing better information to underpin the operations of international financial markets and economic policy assessments in general, and thus facilitating public and private decision making. may countries that have participated in gdds be able to eventually join the club of the sdds. this is what saudi arabia has planned for. dear participants, this 5 - day workshop is to expand on many data - related issues and standards, including the ones that i have just talked about. some of the important topics which would be covered over the next five days include : 1. imf's key data dissemination initiatives 2. essentials of sdds and its subscription 3. essentials of standardized report forms 4. development details of statistical bulletin tables proposed by the gcc monetary union. this workshop will provide an opportunity for all gcc organizations in the statistical community to share national experiences, and lead discussions to identify areas for mutual cooperation for further improvement in data production and presentation. i may emphasize here that timely availability of reliable and mutually consistent national data would be of great help to the gcc monetary council in its task of preparing for the achievement of the ultimate goal of gcc monetary union

the banking sector to encounter any latent risks and the assessment of banks'risk management systems so that the supervisory authorities could ensure that they are appropriate, in line with the risks that banks might encounter, and up to the best banking practices in the area of effective banking supervision. basel ii principles require all banks to address all risks, such as credit risks, market risks, operational risks and others. the principles envisage that banks should have in place systems that would help identify, measure, monitor and make provisions for such risks. the domestic banks are aware of the importance that the application of the new standard should coincide with concentration on risk management in keeping with the best global practices by using the best technological solutions. reviewing the topics of this symposium and the quality of its speakers, i see that it broadly covers aspects and all types of applications of banking risk management as basel ii principles seek to highlight and address. in conclusion, i express my deep thanks to the audience and the organizers of this symposium, and we look forward to having positive contributions and outstanding papers, wishing you all success. al salumu alaikum warahmatu allahi wabarakatuh. is review 125 / 2006