ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Science and Technology is finalizing the draft of National Quality Policy (NPQ) which will soon be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration, approval and implementation.
The Implementation Plan for the NPQ is being developed under the leadership of the Ministry for Science and Technology, and this would be completed within the next three month, official sources at Ministry told APP, here Monday.
He said NQP will help ensure that goods and services emanating in Pakistan are designed, manufactured and supplied in a manner that match the needs, expectations and formal requirements of the consumers and the authorities in both the local and export markets.
"The NQP draft was developed after a series of consultations and workshops with the public and private sector stakeholders, spread over 18 months, with the immense support and technical assistance of EU funded TRTA II programme being implemented by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in association with International Trade Centre (ITC) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)".
UNIDO, as an international agency, has unique experience in NQP development process in at least 9 other countries.
He said that the National Quality Policy is a very important policy document and its impact will be felt across a number of Ministries at the federal and provincial level as well as the private sector.
As the globalization of markets is rapidly changing with the technological developments, it is creating a big challenge for enterprises in the developing economies in accessing the markets in developed countries.
Therefore, the government realizes the need to harmonize national policy issues with international requirements among the quality related organizations and regulatory agencies to ensure an effective and efficient service delivery.
Giving details, official said NQP comprises two major aspects. Firstly the National Quality Infrastructure, which includes organizations that provide standards, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment services have to be re-organized such that they can gain international recognition.
Secondly, Pakistan needs to establish a common Technical Regulation Framework that will be utilized by all federal and provincial regulatory authorities to ensure that technical regulations are effective and that their respective responsibilities are clearly articulated.
The latter would be extremely helpful in establishing a trade -friendly environment without compromising the safety and health of society and the environment through unsafe products, he added.
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