Azernews.Az

By Sara Israfilbayova

Ramiz Hasanov, the chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patents, stated that about 40 percent of the standards adopted in Azerbaijan are recognized in Europe

“New standards being adopted in Azerbaijan are fully harmonized with the European ones,” he told reporters in Baku on September 7. “A number of older standards are also being improved and unified with the European and international ones.”

During the presentation of the EU-funded twinning project titled “Strengthening the National Accreditation System of Azerbaijan”, Hasanov noted that this project will make it possible to fully bring the standards in the country to international levels, Trend reports.

He added that this November, Berlin will host a regular meeting of the General Assembly of the European cooperation for Accreditation (EA), and the issue of Azerbaijan’s admission to the EA as an associate member will be discussed there.

“We have fulfilled all the conditions set before us, therefore I think that the decision will be positive,” Hasanov added. “After the completion of the twinning project, we hope that we will be admitted to full members of the EA.”

The Chairman went on to say that said that the project aims to increase the share of the non-oil sector in the country's economy and expand the country's export potential with accreditation of one of the areas of quality infrastructure in Azerbaijan.

He said that since 2008 the Committee has been using the EU twinning tool to reform the quality infrastructure in Azerbaijan.

The main goal of the project, which will be implemented over two years, is to support Azerbaijan's accession to the world market through the development of an accreditation system in accordance with EU standards and international standards on standards, norms and processes in the field of accreditation.

Earlier, Sabig Abdullayev, head of the Accreditation Center at the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patent of Azerbaijan, told Trend that the twinning project aims to contribute to the development of the Azerbaijani economy and expand access of local exporters to the world markets by creating an accreditation system that meets the European requirements.

In turn, Head of the Cooperation Department of the Delegation of the European Union Jeroen Willems, said that the strategic road map adopted for implementation of the economic reforms in Azerbaijan will help diversify the country’s national economy and give impetus to the development of the non-oil sector.

As is known, from time to time the Azerbaijani products are exported to the European market, they have a quality certificate and are accepted by the EU accreditation services, Willems said.

However, unfortunately, the export of Azerbaijani products to the European market is not provided at the proper level, because not all certificates are recognized in the EU for now, he said.

He noted that this project is aimed at promoting Azerbaijani products in the global market, adding that this is important and will contribute to the expansion of export of Azerbaijani products.

Along with this, by reducing costs, the EU will simplify the access of Azerbaijani products to the European market, but at the same time, protection of consumer rights is also related to the strengthening of the accreditation system, Willems said.

Willems also stressed that Azerbaijan occupies leading positions in the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP).

This is already the 51st twinning project being implemented by the EU in Azerbaijan. After the completion of this project, the relations between the relevant structures of Azerbaijan and the EU will further strengthen, he noted.

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