Strengthening the Compliance of the OIC Member States

to International Standards

Figure 5: Standards harmonization in selected OIC countries, latest available year

Source: National standards bodies.Note: Data not available for other OIC member states. Internationally

harmonized is limited to equivalence with ISO, IEC, or similar international standards. Harmonization with

EU CEN standards is not treated as international harmonization, because the standards in question are

regional rather than global. Only standards actually in force as of writing are included in the analysis.

3.2.1

Conformity Assessment and Mutual Recognition

In addition to international harmonization, the issue of mutual recognition of conformity assessments is

also important, for the reasons set out above. Again, practice in this area differs substantially from one

OIC member state to another, based on the countries for which data have been made available as part of

this study. Some countries, like Morocco (eight) and Saudi Arabia (21) have signed mutual recognition

agreements with third parties, so that goods that conform with international standards are not subject

to costly retesting upon entering the local market. Azerbaijan has similarly signed ten agreements on

standards cooperation, but limited to its immediate region. Turkey is the most active country, with 120

mutual recognition agreements signed. Similarly, Malaysia is a part of regional mutual recognition

arrangements (see further below in the case studies of APEC and ASEAN). Qatar plots a middle course:

the country has not signed any mutual recognition agreement, but in practice, it typically accepts test

results issued by a laboratory certified in accordance with ISO standards. At the other end of the

spectrum, the Gambia does not have any mutual recognition agreements, nor does it have a de facto

recognition procedure in place like Qatar.

10000

20000

30000

40000

Azerbaijan

Bangladesh

Egypt

Gambia

Malaysia

Morocco

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Suriname

Turkey

Number

Country

Internationally Harmonized Standards Non-Harmonized Standards