Compliance with international standards critical for increasing trade: Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said the key to Pakistan's economic development lies in trade and not aid and compliance with international standards through accreditation is critical for gaining market access and enhancing trade.

In a message on the occasion of World Accreditation Day falling on June 9, he said the day has great significance for developing countries like Pakistan.

The theme of this year is to focus on how accreditation is used to support the work of regulators, he added.

The President said he was happy to learn that at the national level, there is now a greater recognition of accreditation by regulators to ensure quality control without going through multiple assessment of products.

He said the international acceptance of the tests by the labs accredited by the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) would lend competitive edge to exports, protect the consumers and dispense with multiple tests.

The accreditation significantly reduces compliance costs in competitive business by removing unnecessary multiple assessments, he said adding it also reduces the time taken to market goods and services by streamlining the approval process.

Accreditation must meet the expectation of a growing base of stakeholders by responding to the needs of both industry and regulators who are increasingly turning to accreditation to meet their regulatory responsibilities, he added.

He expressed the hope that PNAC will reach out to all the stakeholders to increase awareness on accreditation and its benefits.

The President called upon all the stakeholders to make concerted efforts to get accreditation of maximum number of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) and thereby enhance the opportunity for acceptance of their products and services across national boundaries.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011