February 01, 2002

    The SAARC Standing Group on Standards, Quality Control and Measurement, which will be meeting at New Delhi during February 4-6, 2002, is expected to focus on developing regional standards for products in the interest of intra-SAARC trade and also as items of export outside the SAARC Region. The Standing Group shall work towards preparing Mutual Recognition Agreements for conformity assessment in product certification and accreditation. Member States shall also intensify cooperation for training and development of human resources in this area. The group shall attempt to forge a Regional Action Plan to enable the SAARC Region to take a collective position at the international standardization fora.

    The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is hosting the second meeting on behalf of the Government of India. The first meeting was held during June 29-30, 1999. The SAARC Commerce Ministers, during their second meeting at Islamabad in April 1998, had decided to set up this group as it was felt that standards and conformity assessment were critical to promotion of trade in the region.