This Website Provides a summary of some useful information made available to delegates of the 29th General Assembly of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO), scheduled for July 3rd to 7th, 2023, hosted by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo through the Office Congolais de Controle (OCC) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Brief on ARSO
The African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) is an intergovernmental body created by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), currently the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in 1977. The main mandate of ARSO is to harmonize African standards and regulations, as well as conformity assessment procedures. The objective of ARSO is to reduce Technical Barriers to Trade with the aim of promoting intra-African and international trade, improving the competitiveness of SMEs and accelerating the industrialization of the continent.
ARSO members are drawn from African countries through their national standards offices. ARSO currently has 43 Members: Algeria, Botswana, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo Brazzaville, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, New State of Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and with Zanzibar as an Observer member.
In accordance with the statutes of ARSO, the latter is composed of several bodies: The General Assembly, the Council, the Central Secretariat and the Specialized Committees. The presidency of the organization is currently ensured by Ghana through Prof. Alexandar Dodoo, Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA)
Thus, from July 3rd to 7th, 2023, the 29th General Assembly of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO), will be held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on the theme “Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation-One Standard-One Test – One-Certificate Accepted Everywhere”.
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is ARSO’s highest governance body. It is a major annual event that mobilizes the main decision-makers in Africa and around the world in terms of standardization, and allows all participants to make the most of their participation, through the exchange of ideas and best practices, discuss key Pan-African Quality Infrastructure issues and build useful relationships for standardization in their respective business sectors.
Event Components
11th ARSO Champions Meeting (Half Day) on 3rd July 2023
The 68th ARSO Council One and a half days (3rd to 4th July 2023)
ARSO GPS and ARSO FRAC Committees meetings in two separate rooms
African Day of Standardisation (ADS) and Opening Ceremony of the 29th General Assembly Events on 5th July 2023
(i) Opening Ceremony of the 29th GA Events
(ii) African Day of Standardisation (ADS)
29th General Assembly. (Two Days) Opening Remarks by the President and the Secretary General
ARSO CACO/COCO Capacity Building (Three Days) – 3rd July to 5th July 2023
Running concurrently but parallel with the GA events
ARSO TC (TCs) Chairs and Secretaries Capacity Building (Three days) – 3rd to 5th July 2023
Running concurrently but parallel with the GA events
Made in Africa Expo (Four Days) – The Made in Africa Expo by the DR Congo Industries.
OCC to invite the Industries to the Expo and provide the Expo space
ARSO Essay Competition Awards and Recognition Ceremony