RIYADH, 22 March 2008 — The Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO), in cooperation with the International Standards Organization (ISO) and MARS Company, will launch a two-day workshop here tomorrow at the organization’s headquarters under the title “Sharing Partners in Announcing International Quality Standards.”
“Many subjects will be taken into consideration in the workshop, such as cooperation with the ISO, as well as standards and the quality and its references with the international standards,” said SASO General Manager Nabil Molla, adding that SASO would also discuss the current situation in the Kingdom regarding implementing more international standards, as well as the challenges facing the region.
Important participants in the workshop include the head of the Egyptian Standards Organization and the ISO Regional Liaison Officer in the Middle East Mahmoud Isa, in addition to representatives from academic organizations and the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he added.
Molla said he was hopeful the workshop would raise healthy discussions and open dialogue that would further activate partnerships between the Kingdom and international bodies to implement international standards, a move which he said would reflect positively on the Kingdom and increases its exports and the business relations in the region. He also said the initiative could help decrease the Kingdom’s obstacles in international trade.
Applying international standards in the health sector as well as health consumer would also be among the major topics discussed in the workshop, he added.
In related news, Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza, who is also the chairman of the SASO, approved 1,500 new standards specifications in a meeting of the SASO held recently in Riyadh.
The approval of the new specifications aims at serving the qualitative improvement of the Saudi products so that they become capable of competing in domestic and international markets. It also aims at protecting the consumer interests including their health and safety.
“The new specifications cover the areas related to the national economy such as agriculture, food industry, machines, metallurgy, electrical and electronic appliances, chemicals, petroleum products, construction, building materials and quality control. The quality specification is important particularly after the Kingdom has to compete with products from all parts of the world after it joined the World Trade Organization,” Molla said.
The director general said the latest additions bring the total of approved standard specifications in the Kingdom to 11,000 in the course of the past five years. They cover areas almost all walks of life.
“The new specifications stipulate that trucks should follow the weight regulations so that they do not damage express highways. Any overload in trucks and other vehicles are damaging and reducing the life of roads,” Molla added.