In September 2000, world leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration. The Declaration covers issues of peace, security and development, including the environment, protection of vulnerable groups, human rights and governance. The Declaration consolidates a set of inter-connected development goals into a global agenda. These goals are designated as the "Millennium Development Goals" or "MDGs". Each goal comprises numerical targets to be achieved by the year 2015. Appropriate indicators have been selected to monitor progress. The goals, targets and indicators must be considered as indicative for country-level monitoring, not as a rigid directive.

At the country level, MDG Reports or Reviews (MDGRs) are meant to help engage political leaders and top decision-makers, as well as to mobilise civil society, communities, the general public, parliamentarians and the media in a debate about human development. The main purpose of the MDGR is two-fold: public information and social mobilisation. It is a tool for awareness raising, advocacy, alliance building, and renewal of political commitments at the country level, as well as to build national capacity for monitoring and reporting on progress.  Triggering action for accelerating MDG progress is the ultimate objective of MDGR.

The MDGR primarily addresses a national audience in an effort to bringing the MDGs 'home'. Too often, global goals and targets have remained at the global and inter-governmental level; in too few instances did they make a real difference in terms of domestic policy reforms and hence action.

The process of preparing the MDGR will help define globally agreed objectives into country specific targets to focus the development debate on nationally defined priorities.
In this context the Council of Ministers of Labour and Ministers of Social Affairs in GCC States, Excutive Bureau in close collaboration with UNDP and ESCWA organized a Workshop on Methodology in prepapring national MDGRs in GCC, was organized in Muscat from 17 to 20 May 2009, and was attended by nearly 60 participants.  The main focus of the Workshop was as follows:

Assessment of national MDGRs and good practices in preparation of the 2010 MDG reports