Standards and Conformity Assessment In The Arab Countries: An Overview

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Standards and Conformity AssessmentIn The Arab
Countries An Overview
Paper presented by Mr.Talaat Al-Dafer Director
General Arab Industrial Development and Mining
Organization (AIDMO) Rabat - Morocco
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Quality Assurance
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Agreed upon Standards(Regional International)
Breaking The Borders
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1958 1st Conference on standards
Standardization at the Arab regional level
1960 Permanent Tech Standards Committ
1967 Activity of ASMO WITH TEN MEMBER STATES
1990 AIDMO
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AIDMO MEMBER COUNTRIES
JORDAN
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
BAHRAIN
TUNISIA
ALGERIA
DJIBOUTI
SAUDI ARABIA
SUDAN
SYRIA
SOMALIA
IRAQ
OMAN
PALESTINE
QATAR
KUWAIT
LEBANON
LIBYA
EGYPT
MOROCCO
MAURITANIA
YEMEN
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Promoting the quality of products and the
unification of standards to enhence commercial
exchange and cooperation in the related
activities through the following

1. Unification of symbols, terms, definitions,
   types, testing, analysis and assessment methods,
   design basis and implementation in Arab States.
2. Issuing Unified Arab Standards for raw
   materials, goods, products, technical
   implementation systems in line with the
   international standards taking into account the
   Arab circumstances.
3. Development of skills of Cadres from member
   states in different fields of standards quality
   control, and testing methods.
4. Issuing, and adopting of marks and symbols of
   conformity of goods and products to Arab
   Standards, and setting up systems related to
   terms of use and conformity Marks.
5. Assisting Arab States in the Establishment and
   or development of national standardization bodies
   to protect the consumer and to improve the
   quality of products

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The role of HCCS

• Assisting AIDMO in the formulation of policies,
  elaboration of work programs for standards,
  Laboratories, quality, and the required surveys
  in this field.
• Establishment of Arab Standards' Committees or
  their elimination, the adoption of their work
  programmes and the follow-up of their
  achievements.
• Suggesting of training programmes for Arab cadres
  in the field of standardization and related
  activities.
• Suggesting policies for assisting Arab member
  states to establish and improve their
  standardization bodies.
• Undertaking studies on unified draft Arab
  Standards and considering their primary adoption
  so as to be submitted to the ministerial Council
  to be finally adopted.

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Technical working Guide for AIDMO Center of
Standardization and Metrology regulating
paragraphs

• The center prepare draft annual plan to be
  submitted to the High Consultative Committee of
  Standardization (HCCS) for primary adoption.
• The HCCS shall undertake the distribution of this
  plan to the secretariats of AIDMO Technical
  Committees.
• In case a country wishes to prepare a certain
  standard, this should be done in coordination
  with the technical secretariat of the committee.
  Also the final version of this standard should be
  verified by the technical secretariat of the
  committee.
• The technical secretariat shall prepare and
  distribute the draft standard to other standards'
  bodies for comments within three months as of the
  date of distribution. Also the center shall be
  given a copy of this correspondence.
• Technical secretariat shall study the comments
  received and prepare new draft, noting that the
  standard body which does not return any comments
  after the deadline is considered agreed .

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• In case of convincing technical comments, the
  draft shall be prepared again taking into
  consideration the new remarks and shall be
  redistributed to the member states for comments
  in two months' period.
• If 75 of NSBs agree on the draft project, the
  technical secretariat shall submit draft project
  to AIDMO center of standardization together with
  a report.
• the center shall undertake preparing the draft
  standard in its final version and submitting it
  to the executive council of AIDMO.
• The HCCS shall recommend, by majority of votes,
  the submission of adopted projects to the
  Executive council of AIDMO for their adoption.
  The project then becomes an Arab standard as of
  the date of its final adoption by the Executive
  Council.
• The center shall undertake the printing of
  unified Arab standards and their distribution to
  national standards bodies.

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AIDMO Standards' Technical Committees
Number and Name of Committee Technical Secretariat
AIDMO TC 1 Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners Egypt
AIDMO TC 2 Aluminium products Syria
AIDMO TC 3 Processed food products Egypt
AIDMO TC 4 Non-Processed food products Sudan
AIDMO TC 5 Terminology Sudan
AIDMO TC 6 Plastics Egypt
AIDMO TC 7 Metrology Egypt
AIDMO TC 8 Application of Arabic Language in Informatics Syria
 AIDMO TC 9 Solar Energy and its Application Egypt
AIDMO TC 10 Etectric and Telephone wires and cables Palestine
AIDMO TC 11 Tobacco and Tobacco products  
AIDMO TC 12 Cement, lime and gypsum Lybia
AIDMO TC 13 Paints and varnishes Syria
AIDMO TC 14 Gypsum and its products Egypt
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AIDMO TC 15 Steel Saudi Arabia
AIDMO TC 16 Glass Algeria
AIDMO TC 17 Safety Egypt
AIDMO TC 18 Petroleum products and lubricants Syria
AIDMO TC 19 Packaging Syria
AIDMO TC 20 Technical drawing and limits and fits  
AIDMO TC 21 Paper and cardboard Egypt
AIDMO TC 22 Chemistry Yemen
AIDMO TC 23 Textiles Egypt
AIDMO TC 24 Leather Sudan
AIDMO TC 25 Soap and synthetic detergents Syria
AIDMO TC 26 Electrotechnicl safety requirements Egypt
AIDMO TC 27 Electrotechnical symbols and ratings Egypt
AIDMO TC 28 Steam boilers and pressure vessels Egypt
AIDMO TC 29 Electrical accessories Jordan
AIDMO TC 30 Building code Yemen
AIDMO TC 31 Cars, vehicles and their accessories Saudi Arabia
AIDMO TC 32 Environment protection from pollution Yemen
AIDMO TC 33 Roads and Axial Loads
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quality standards liable to change according to
the following variables

• potential change in the consumer's demands which
  cover a whole range of sectors. The demands
  change according to the standard of living of
  the consumer.
• technological progress
• changing social and economic circumstances
• difference in taste and culture of people
• difference in the designe of products 

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AIDMO and Arab countries noted with satisfaction
the necessity of developing a national quality
infrastructure according to the new international
concepts.

• conformity assessment has become an integral part
  of the world trade convention on technical
  barriers to trade

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• conformity assessment covers the following
  activities

• preparation, adoption and implementation of
  standards
• Preparation, adoption and implementation of
  technical regulations
• Metrology
• Testing
• Certification and conformity assessment
• Inspection
• Accreditaion
• These activities verify that the product or
  service meets stated or implied requirements

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• Total number of Unified Arab Standards adopted
  so far is

1588

• This include ISO 9000, and ISO 14000 series and
  are called AIDMO/ISO standards

• AIDMO translate into Arabic language
• 24 ISO/IEC Guides,

• AIDMO is encouraging the development and/or
  establishment of national conformity assessment
  Bodies leading to mutual recognition agreements ,

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AIDMO share with others

• The celebration of the World Standards Day on the
  14th of October every year.

• The celebration of the Arab Standards Day on the
  25th of March every year

• AIDMO is planning to choose the first Ambassador
  of standardization to the Arab Region

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(No Transcript)
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AIDMO CHART
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Director Generals Office
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Geology section
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Statistics and Information Section
Quality Section
Industrial Projects Promotion section
Industrial Integration Section
General Services section
Library and Documentation Section
Human Resources Section
Energy and Environment Section
Printing Unit
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Regional Offices
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Wishing your conference every possible success in
Building Bridges of Peace, Hope and Prosperity
between our nations through our dedication for
harmonization of standards

• Thank you.