First Meeting of the Heads of Standardization Organizations and Other Related Bodies

ECO Secretariat, Tehran

18 January 2006 

Press Release

The First Meeting of the Heads of Standardization Organizations and Other Related Bodies of the ECO Member States has started today on 17 January 2006 in Tehran hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran (Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of the Islamic Republic of Iran – ISIRI). The Meeting is preceded by the 2^nd ECO Experts Group Meeting on Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology.

In the inaugural session, H.E. Ali Asghar Tofigh, Deputy Minister of Industries and Mines and President of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) welcomed and informed the delegates about activities of ISIRI in the fields of standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology.

H.E. Mr. Ali Reza Tahmasby, Minister of Industries and Mines of the Islamic Republic of Iran inaugurated the Meeting. Mr. Tahmasby emphasized on the importance of standardization in economic development and facilitation of the trade of goods and services among the Member States through removing/eliminating some of the non-tariff barriers. He highlighted the role to be played  by the ECO Institute on Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology (RISCAM) in this regard.

H.E. Askhat Orazbay, Secretary General of ECO also delivered a statement. He informed that principle objective of standardization is to supply the markets with high quality, reliable products and harmonization of member countries' standards and technical regulations and conformity assessment systems is an essential pre-requisite for enhancement of intra regional trade and greater economic integration of the ECO region. 

The Meeting considered and approved the ”ECO Regional Cooperation Strategy on Standardization” and “Statute of ECO Regional Institute for Standardization (RISCAM)” prepared by the 1^st and 2^nd EGM on the subjects.

The objectives of the Regional Strategy and RISCAM are to promote the development of standardization and related activities, to develop RISCAM standards, to encourage the use of international standards in the ECO region, to ensure training for the technical staff of the Member States, to promote Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs), to establish cooperation with the relevant international and regional organizations and protect the rights of the member states in global markets. The Statute will be submitted to ECO Council of Ministers scheduled to be held in May 2006 in Baku-Azerbaijan for approval through 16^th Meeting ECO Regional Planning Council (RPC) wherein the “ECO Regional Strategy” shall be submitted to the 3^rd Ministerial Meeting on Industry for its approval to be held in late 2006 in Pakistan.

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