Regional Harmonization of Standards In South Asia

Dr. Syed Humayun Kabir

Director General,

South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO)

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Operationalization of SARSO

For construction of SARSO Headquarter Bangladesh Govt. had allocated land and the fund for construction of building

Construction work of SARSO building is complete and the functions of SARSO is now being performed at the SARSO Building.

Officers and staff are being recruited locally and regionally

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South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO)

At the Fifteenth SAARC Summit held in Colombo on 2-3 August 2008, the Government of member states had agreed to establish South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) and they had signed the text of the Agreement on the establishment of the SARSO.

All Member States ratified the Agreement on the Establishment of SARSO

The Agreement on the Establishment of SARSO entered into force with effect from 25 August 2011

The Headquarter of SARSO is located in Dhaka.

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Organizational Structure of SARSO The Governing Board (GB) The Technical Management Board (TMB) The Director General (DG) The Secretariat

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Governing Board (GB) The GB is the highest authority of SARSO The GB is vested with all powers relating t its function The Heads of the respective NSB of each member

states are members of the GB The Chairperson of TMB, Secretary General of SAARC

and the Head of the Secretariat are the Ex-officio members of the GB

The Chairperson of the GB shall be appointed for two years from among the members

Employees Structure Approved In The SARSO Governing Board Meeting

Sl. No. Designation Number of Posts

1. Director-General 1

2. Directors 3

3. Deputy Directors 6

4. Assistant Directors 0

5. MIS Officer 1

6. Librarian 0

7. Office Assistants 7

8. Protocol Assistant 1

9. Receptionist 1

10. Drivers 2*

11. Security Officer 1*

12. Peon/MLSS 7

13. Cleaner 0*

TOTAL 30

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Technical Management Board (TMB) The TMB shall consist of one Technical Exert nominated

by each NSB The Chairperson of TMB shall be elected unanimously

from among its members The tenure of the Chairperson shall be three years The TMB shall be responsible for monitoring and

management of all the Technical work of SARSO The TMB shall establish Technical Committees for

developing Standards and other Technical works

Objectives of SARSO

Promote and undertake harmonization of national standards of the SAARC Member States

Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

Enhance flow of goods and services

Develop SAARC standards on the common products of regional interest

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Objectives of SARSO (cont.)

Use of international standards developed by ISO, IEC & other international organizations

Exchange of information and expertise among the NSBs

Facilitate capacity building in the area of standardization

Present common interest in the various international standards organizations

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Objectives of SARSO (cont.)

Establish mutually beneficial cooperation with the international and regional organization

Promote Mutual Recognition Arrangements on Conformity Assessment Procedures

Explore the possibility of having a common mark of conformity

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SAARC Standards Coordination Board (SSCB)

Prior to holding of 1st SARSO GB meeting functions of Regional Standardization were performed under SSCB

SSCB held 8 meetings prior to 1st SARSO GB meeting

5 Sectoral Technical committees (STCs) had been constituted

TMB was formed

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Name of SAARC STC

Number of meeting held

Country where Meeting held in

SAARC STC on Food and Agricultural Products

Three (3) 1st meeting: Nepal, 2011 2nd meeting: Dhaka, 2011 3rd meeting: Pakistan, 2012

SAARC STC on Jute, Textile and Leather

Three (3) 1st meeting: Nepal, 2012 2nd meeting: Dhaka, 2012 3rd meeting: Sri Lanka, 2013

SAARC STC on Building Materials

Three (3)

1st meeting: Nepal, 2011 2nd meeting: Nepal, 2012 3rd meeting : Nepal, 2013

SAARC STC on Electrical, Electronics, Telecom & IT

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SAARC STC on Chemical and Chemical Products

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SAARC Sectoral Technical Committee Meetings held

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Name of SAARC STC

Proposed meeting number

Proposed date and venue

SAARC STC on Food and Agricultural Products

Fourth meeting

September,2014 India

SAARC STC on Jute, Textile and Leather

Second meeting

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SAARC STC on Building Materials

Third meeting

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SAARC STC on Electrical, Electronics, Telecom & IT

First meeting

September,2014 India

SAARC STC on Chemical and Chemical Products

First meeting

September,2014 India

Proposed SAARC STC Meetings

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First Meeting of SARSO Governing Board

The first Meeting of SARSO Governing Board was held in Dhaka from 14-15 December, 2011

Director General, BSTI was unanimously elected as the Chairperson of SARSO Governing Board

Chairperson was elected for a non-renewable period of two years

Representatives from NSBs of SAARC Member States and Officials of SAARC Secretariat were present

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Recommendations Made at the SARSO Governing Board Meeting

Recommended on formulating a programme for capacity building in the field of standards and conformity assessment

Recommended on the Terms and Conditions for Director General of SARSO, including salary and allowances

Recommended on Administrative and Financial Matters of SARSO

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Recommendations Made at the SARSO Governing Board Meeting (contd.)

Recommended on review of Progress in PTB-SAARC cooperation in the fields of Metrology, Accreditation and raising awareness of standards in the region

Organogram of SARSO was recommended

Report of 1st GB meeting has been approved by all member states

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Second Meeting of SARSO Governing Board

2nd meeting of SARSO GB was held on 2-3 April, 2014 in Dhaka

Source of funding for operational cost of SARSO was decided in the 2nd GB meeting

DG’s appointment was confirmed and charge was assumed by DG on 3rd April 2014.

Annual budget of SARSO prepared by DG was approved and other important decisions were also made .

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First meeting of TMB

First meeting of TMB was held on 31st

March-1st April.

TMB member of India was elected Chairperson of TMB

Draft technical rule of TMB was finalized

9 technical committee´s report were approved

Recommended that TMB Chairperson will attend the GB meeting

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Harmonization of Standards On The Common Products

1. Refined Sugar

2. Biscuits

3. Instant Noodles

4. Black tea

5. Banaspati (veg. ghee)

6. Skimmed Milk Powder

7. Standard for food Hyginenic

condition

8. Steel tube for Structural

purposes

9. Ordinary Portland Cement

10. Steel Bars for Ceramic

Reinforcement

11. Ceramic Tiles

12. Identified Hessian and Tarpaulin

fabric

13. Jute Bags for packing of various

commodities

14. Jute twine

15. Jute Carpet backing Fabric

16. Jute yarn

17. Cotton Drill Fabric

18. Cotton Twill Fabric

19. Towels and Toweling Fabric

20. Electric cable

21. Double capped fluorescent Lamp

22. Shampoo and

23. Toilet soap

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SAARC Expert Group on Accreditation

To strengthen accreditation capacity of the member states an expert group has been established in 2012

Till to date, 3 meetings of this group were held under the financial and technical assistance of German National Metrology Institute (PTB)

Capacity development needs are being assessed and action plan is being developed within the framework of SAARC-PTB MOU

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SAARC Agreements Relating To Standards and Conformity Assessment

National formalities including final approval of

(i) SAARC Agreement on Multilateral Arrangement on Recognition of Conformity Assessment and

(ii) SAARC Agreement on Implementation of Regional Standards have been completed

Ratification of these two Agreements have not been completed as yet

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SARSO and its Possible Role in the Biosafety of GE Derived Foods

Guidelines for the Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from GE Crops

Under South Asia Biosafety Program in Bangladesh a national committee was formed to develop a guidelines on the safety assessment of foods derived from GE crops

The committee developed a guidelines which has been adopted as Bangladesh National Standards

The other necessary standards may also be developed in this area

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Guidelines for the Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Genetically Engineered Plants

Draft of the Guidelines developed by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council with the assistance of local and foreign experts Eight chapters

I: Introduction II: Scope and objective III: Definition of different terms IV: Overarching Principles Concept of Safety Assessment Framework for Safety Assessment

V: Core Information Description of the GE plant Description of the Unmodified Host Plant and its Use as Food

• History of Safe Use and Dietary Exposure Description of the Donor Organism(s) Description of the Genetic Modification

• Methods of Genetic Modification • Potentially Introduced Genetic Material

Molecular Characterization of the GE Plant

VI: Safety Assessment Assessment of Possible Toxicity Assessment of Possible Allergenicity

o Serum Testing o Other Considerations

Compositional Analysis Intended Nutritional Modifications Unintended Effects

VII: Supporting References

VIII: Proforma Summary Application Form for the Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from GE Plants

Standards In Relation To GM Food

In the South Asia Region the national standards, guidelines, conformity assessment procedures may be harmonized

Harmonization can ensure more safety and facilitate intra-regional fair trade

Harmonization can enhance coordination and cooperation on the regional interest

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Thanks for your patience hearing

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