SALALAH: The GCC Ministerial Committee for Standardisation Affairs, during its sixth meeting in Salalah last week, discussed a number of issues, including the report of the Chairman of the Gulf Standardisation Organisation’s (GSO) performance, and the memorandum of the Presidency of the Standardisation Organisation regarding the decision of the Trade Cooperation Committee to adopt the new Gulf Conformity Badge system as an alternative to the Gulf Quality Mark.
Chairing the meeting, Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Eng Qais al Yousef, lauded the tireless efforts of the Gulf Standardisation Organisation in drafting standards and technical regulations covering products and services across a wide variety of sectors.
Thanks to the efforts of the GSO, a total of 1,186 technical regulations – out of a total of 26,921 issued to date – are presently mandatory. In addition, 73 memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements have been reached with a total of 60 regional and international organisations.
These pacts, Al Yousef said, constitute and an important path for development and a reference source on standardisation activities and training programmes encompassing a variety of sectors. He also commended the work of the technical committees and specialists drawn from the standardisation bodies of the GCC member countries for their knowledge and studies.
At the last meeting, the ministerial committee approved the adoption of 10 Gulf technical regulations as well as sectoral Gulf technical regulations. The committee also approved use of the Gulf Conformity Badge as an alternative to the Gulf Quality Mark.
The ministerial committee also adopted several 5 draft Gulf technical regulations, completing the agreement to establish the Gulf Accreditation Centre, as well as preparing a study for the GCC Quality Award.
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