Strengthening the Compliance of the OIC Member States
to International Standards
94
facilitate international recognition of the EOS; to enable Egyptian companies to obtain conformity
assessment services tailored to specific markets such as the EU; and to develop institutional capacities
through modern management systems and capacity development. Also, the National Metrology Institute
is due to commence implementation of a twinning project for legislative and technical reform in the field
of metrology in line with the relevant European best practices in standards, norms, and processes
(European Commission, 2014). These objectives are in the framework of the ongoing negotiations on the
Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance (ACAA) in priority industrial sectors
(construction products, electrical appliances, pressure equipment, medical devices, and gas appliances).
Enhancing these sectors should boost Egyptian exports to the EU market and enhance the integration of
the Egyptian economy in its regional markets. The ultimate objective is to support Egyptian
manufacturers to use the ACAA agreement for better exporting to EU.
In addition to the twinning program, a number of technical assistance programs are currently under
implementation.
a) The MENA Star Project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
(SIDA) and organized by ISO to support institutional capacity and standards development
process to enhance business and industry in the MENA region, with a time span of four years
(2013-2017);
b) The Quality Infrastructure for Sustainable Development and Trade Capacities Project is carried
out the PTB German Metrology Institute. EOS will benefit from the upgrade of two testing
laboratories in wood and furniture, and chromatography. The project also promotes regional
cooperation in this domain. More generally, the project involves raising the awareness of
ministries, chambers of commerce, and business associations of the importance of quality
infrastructure in the context of trade promotion and enhancing competitiveness of SMEs (PTB,
2015); and
c) The UNIDO Energy Efficiency Program to qualify factories and industrial plants for the ISO
50001 certification.
Apart from the EU technical assistance programs, USAID has launched a three-year Trade Facilitation
Project (TFP) with a budget of USD$10.9m in 2011. The program includes, among other objectives,
enhancing the Egyptian standards infrastructure, streamlining Egyptian mandatory standards and
promoting Egyptian exports. Due to political unrest between 2011 and 2013 the project could not be
completed, and it appears that few activities were undertaken apart from some meetings on the subject
of food safety (TFP, 2015).