1. Standards and Conformity Assessment In The Arab Countries: An Overview
Paper presented by
Mr.Talaat Al-Dafer
Director General
Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO)
Rabat - Morocco
Standards and Conformity Assessment In The Arab Countries: An Overview
AIDMO -2002

2. Standardization
Enhance Trade
Quality Assurance
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3. Agreed upon Standards (Regional & International)
Customs
Breaking
The Borders
Agreed upon Standards (Regional & International)
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4. Industrial Development
Standardization
at the
Arab regional level
1958
1st Conference on
standards
1960
Permanent Tech
Standards Committ
Application of
SI system
of units
Establishment
of NSBs
1967
Activity of ASMO
WITH TEN MEMBER
STATES
1990
AIDMO
Standardization
&
Metrology
Mineral Resources
Industrial Development
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5. 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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6. Promoting the quality of products and the unification of standards to enhence commercial exchange and cooperation in the related activities through the following :
Unification of symbols, terms, definitions, types, testing, analysis and assessment methods, design basis and implementation in Arab States.
Issuing Unified Arab Standards for raw materials, goods, products, technical implementation systems in line with the international standards taking into account the Arab circumstances.
Development of skills of Cadres from member states in different fields of standards: quality control, and testing methods.
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.
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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7. 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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8. 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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9. 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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10. 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
AIDMO TC 4 Non-Processed food products
Sudan
AIDMO TC 5 Terminology
AIDMO TC 6 Plastics
AIDMO TC 7 Metrology
AIDMO TC 8 Application of Arabic Language in Informatics
 AIDMO TC 9 Solar Energy and its Application
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
AIDMO TC 14 Gypsum and its products
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11. AIDMO TC 18 Petroleum products and lubricants Syria
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
AIDMO TC 20 Technical drawing and limits and fits
AIDMO TC 21 Paper and cardboard
AIDMO TC 22 Chemistry
Yemen
AIDMO TC 23 Textiles
AIDMO TC 24 Leather
Sudan
AIDMO TC 25 Soap and synthetic detergents
AIDMO TC 26 Electrotechnicl safety requirements
AIDMO TC 27 Electrotechnical symbols and ratings
AIDMO TC 28 Steam boilers and pressure vessels
AIDMO TC 29 Electrical accessories
Jordan
AIDMO TC 30 Building code
AIDMO TC 31 Cars, vehicles and their accessories
AIDMO TC 32 Environment protection from pollution
AIDMO TC 33 Roads and Axial Loads
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12. 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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13. 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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14. 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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15. 1588 Total number of Unified Arab Standards adopted so far is
This include ISO 9000, and ISO 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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16. 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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17. AIDMO -2002

18. AIDMO CHART Director General Consultant Deputy Director General
Director General’s Office
Legal adviser
Planning and Follow-up office
Co-ordinating Committee
General relations
and Information office
Financial controller
Consultant
Deputy Director General
Specification and
Standardization
center
Department
of Mineral
resourses
Department of
consultancy and
Industrial Development
Department of Studies
And Industrial
Integration
Department of
Administrative and
Financial affairs
Industrial
information
Center
Standardization
Section
Mining section
Industrial
Consultation section
Economic Studies
Section
Personnel Section
Computer Section
Specification
Section
Geology section
Transfer of
Technology section
Small and medium
Scale Industries
Section
Financial Affair’s
Section
Statistics and
Information
Section
Quality Section
Industrial Project’s
Promotion section
Industrial
Integration
Section
General Services
section
Library and
Documentation
Section
Human Resources
Section
Energy and
Environment Section
Printing Unit
Regional Office Cairo
Regional Offices
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19. 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.
AIDMO -2002