Asean members seek to reduce technical barriers to trade
Asean members seek to reduce technical barriers to trade
The Asean Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) Working Group on Accreditation and Conformity Assessment is meeting in Vientiane this week to promote metrological standards in Laos as the country integrates with the Asean Economic Community.
This year, Laos was selected from among the Asean member countries to host the 25th ACCSQ. The meeting is taking place from September 24-26 to discuss the progress made in lowering technical barriers to trade and establishing quality infrastructure.
Participants include the Asean Secretariat and members of the ACCSQ delegation, except Myanmar.
The meeting takes place every year to further cooperation and development towards Asean economic integration.
The ACCSQ has made good progress in achieving its objective of reducing technical barriers to trade, with quality infrastructure seen as key to fulfilling this goal.
The aim is to establish harmonised national and international standards for products and services, and to create a metrological infrastructure so that industry and laboratories can calibrate measuring instruments such that the results are comparable to each other's and accurate.
Th e committee also aims to establish an accreditation system for conformity assessment bodies to ensure that tests, inspections and certifications are carried out in a competent, reliable and internationally accepted way.
Speaking at the meeting yesterday, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Sakone Chaleunvong, said relevant decisions will be made concerning the Asean Conformity Mark for the harmonisation of conformity assessment activities in terms of the testing, inspection and certification of management systems, products and persons.
Product conformity will be considered and follow-up actions, especially with a focus on a feasibility study for an Asean conformity mark, will be discussed, he added.
The meeting is a mechanism for the further reduction of technical barriers to trade in the pursuit of Asean economic integration.
The strength and unity of Asean will be best reflected only when the Asean Economic Community fully emerges in 2015 and regional institutions can promote Asean unity, said Mr Sakone.
“The Ministry of Science and Technology is at the heart of the reform of our standardisation process and our conformity assessment system,” he added.
The ministry has a lot of challenges to face but he believed it would become more efficient with the help of regional cooperation.
Laos is taking remarkable steps to build and guide the policy to improve products and services and the country will soon set up efficient and competent conformity assessment bodies, Mr Sakone said.
vientiane times
