MOSCOW, September 27, 2024 – For the first time in history, a Heads of BRICS National Standardization Bodies Meeting was held.
The event, chaired by Anton Shalaev, CEO of Rosstandart, was attended by Heads and delegations of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT), the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China (SAMR/SAC), the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates (MoIAT), as well as the Iran National Standards Organization (INSO), the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) and the Institute of Ethiopian Standards (IES).
Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Philippe Metzger, Secretary-General of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), noted the importance of this meeting in their video addresses. In turn, member of the Board (Minister) for Technical Regulation of the Eurasian Economic Commission Valentin Tataritsky, speaking in a welcoming address, noted that "technical progress is impossible without standardization."
The event was initiated by Rosstandart as part of the approved Program of events within the Russia's presidency in BRICS.
The heads of standardization bodies discussed areas of cooperation, as well as prospects for interaction between national standardization bodies in the context of the development of technological, industrial and economic cooperation among the BRICS member states. Among the main issues are the involvement of the industry in standardization work, the harmonization of standards and approaches to digital transformation, the introduction of "green" standards in the construction, approaches to conformity assessment and standardization of artificial intelligence using the example of healthcare and agriculture. The participants were also presented with the Russian experience in developing a standard methodology for evaluating commercial companies and ranking them according to the level of reliability, social and environmental responsibility within the framework of achieving sustainable development goals, which makes it possible to visually assess the contribution to achieving national development goals and identify a "responsible business" worthy of state support.
"First of all, it should be said that the Heads of BRICS National Standardization Bodies Meeting is taking place for the first time, despite the fact that the dialogue on the need for convergence in the field of standardization of the participating countries has been conducted since 2016. We can say that today a permanent body has been created — the Council of Heads of BRICS National Standardization Bodies. And this dialogue should become permanent," Anton Shalaev said following the event.
Recall that on the eve, speaking at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said that "BRICS – and Russia is chairing this organization this year – sees its task in building economic potentials, creating a space of opportunities for all who are interested in harmonious, mutually beneficial cooperation. I emphasize: it is mutually beneficial, that is, in the common interests of our countries and peoples."