Conform to international standards - Rob Steele

The implementation of international standards will help countries that are coming out of conflicts such as Sri Lanka to accelerate their economic development, said Secretary General of the International Organisation for Standadisation (ISO) Rob Steele.

He was addressing a seminar organised by the Federation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Sri Lanka (FCCISL). Talking of his experience in Cambodia and Colombia he said, "Adhere to international standards in production and provision of goods and services, these countries can tap opportunities in the global market."

"Today standards have been set out from designing to navigation of an aircraft, fuel uses, products such as tea or coffee, containers (TEUs) which transports them, measurement of weight, credit card use in transactions and everything else should conform to international standards. Countries cannot export products if they do not conform to standards. Therefore, implementing international standards benefits conflict affected countries in their recovery," Steele said.

Standards mean building a consensus. To develop standards experts from various sectors get together, work under clear rules, maintain transparency focusing on common issues and finally come to a consensus.

This does not mean all the members absolutely agree. This is the way 162 member-countries of the ISO develop standards.

ISO is the largest developer and publisher of international standards. It is a non governmental organisation headquartered in Geneva. - GW