ISO secretary meets African Union bosses
Standards that transcend international borders are essential to maintaining quality as global trade accelerates. This topic was the focus of two meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where ISO’s secretary general, Alan Bryden, met with the vice president of the Commission of the African Union, Patrick Mazimhaka in February, and then with Ethiopia’s prime minister Zenawi Meles and minister of trade and industry, Girma Birru.
Discussions focused on world market access through standards, technology distribution and good practice, environmental protection, health and safety and social improvements and general contributions to the global economy.
The meetings also examined the World Trade Organization’s technical barriers to trade agreement, national quality infrastructure and regional cooperation. Another important topic on the agenda was the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and its programme for the economic development of Africa.
These meetings took place at the same time as the 12th general assembly of the African Regional Organization for Standardization (ARSO), also in Addis Ababa. ARSO is an African intergovernmental organization which was established in 1977. Bryden examined ARSO’s role in organizing regional cooperation, and standard and quality development.
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