Remarks delivered by Zarak Khan, Director Programmes & Initiatives, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
at the Inaugural Meeting for the Pacific Regional Standards Committee
28 April 2022
Regional Quality Infrastructure Focal Points
Regional Standardization Focal Points
Development Partners – Standards Australia
Ladies and Gentlemen
Yadra Vinaka.
Bula, and a big Pacific welcome to all of our Standards and QI focal points from around the Blue Pacific Continent to the Inaugural Meeting for the “Pacific Regional Standards Committee”.
Over the past months, the PQI Initiative has held a series of capacity building measures for our national standardization focal points. These were in the form of workshops and individual mentoring sessions, and then finally, the Standards 1-on-1 Needs Assessments.
These activities were conducted to educate our members and raise awareness of the importance of quality infrastructure in the pacific region. We sincerely hope that you have seen the value of participating in these capacity building sessions.
Members, we have now reached an important milestone on our Pacific Quality Infrastructure (PQI) Initiative – the establishment of the Pacific Regional Standards Committee.
The Pacific Regional Standards Committee is a core component of the governance structure of the PQI Initiative. You - The Committee, will be responsible for co-ordinating standardisation activities across the region, with the aim of harmonising and developing standards, and making them more accessible to local stakeholders such as regulators, small and medium-sized enterprises, and consumers.
With this meeting, the Pacific Regional Standards Committee will discuss its Terms of Reference and the modus operandi of the committee to support the implementation of the PQI initiative.
The PQI Initiative aims to support our forum island members in a similar way for upcoming, (a) metrology and (b) testing (a.k.a conformity assessment), with the establishment of 2 other regional committees for these essential QI pillars, over the next few months.
Once again, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for the time your office has devoted to the activities organised by the PQI initiative, and also Standards Australia for their partnership in facilitating the functioning on this important regional body.
Today's meeting as another step in building a strong and resilient QI for your countries and for the region. We wish the Pacific Regional Standards Committee all the best in its work.
I wish you all successful deliberations.
Vinaka.
[ENDS]
