TEHRAN – Head of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) Mehdi Eslam-Panah has said his organization is going to expand cooperation with its Qatari counterpart in order to accelerate achieving the goal of $5 billion annual trade between the two countries.

Eslam-Panah made the remarks after a meeting with Head of Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology Nawaf Ibrahim Al-Hamad Al-Mana on the sidelines of the 17th General Assembly of Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) in Istanbul, IRIB reported on Wednesday.

“Close cooperation in the fields of standardization, conformity assessment, qualification, and metrology can help in achieving the five-billion-dollar trade turnover goal between Iran and Qatar,” the official said.

In the meeting, Eslam-Panah emphasized the continuation of effective and bilateral communication as a prerequisite for strengthening and expanding cooperation between the two sides.

Referring to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the Iranian side has prepared to be signed with Qatar’s standard organization in the near future, he said the draft of the MOU has been sent to Qatar and expressed the readiness of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran to implement this MOU as soon as possible.

The Qatari side also announced the readiness and willingness of the Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology to create positive changes to expand trade exchanges between the two sides.

It was also decided in the meeting that after the approval of the memorandum by the president of Qatar, the MOU would be sent for signature by both parties.

The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries, as an institute developing necessary mechanisms for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, aims at setting new standards in the member states and eliminating technical barriers to trade consequently increasing the trade among them.

The institute also aims to establish conformity assessment schemes for the purpose of expediting the exchange of materials, manufactured goods, and products among member states beginning with mutual recognition of certificates.

The SMIIC also seeks for achieving uniformity in metrology, laboratory testing, and standardization activities among member states and ensuring education and training, and providing technical assistance to the OIC members in the domain of standardization and metrology. Hence, the Institute may cooperate with other regional and international organizations interested partially or wholly in standardization, metrology, or related fields.

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Photo: ISIRI Head Ebrahim Eslam-Panah (L) and his Qatari counterpart Nawaf Ibrahim Al-Hamad Al-Mana shake hand after a meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday.