Key developments of accreditation in the Arab region discussed during ARAC 7th Annual Meetings in Tunis

The Arab Accreditation Cooperation (ARAC), which aims at coordinating and developing the accreditation infrastructure in the Arab region, held its 7th Annual Meetings in Tunis, Tunisia, from the 8th to 12th September 2019.

These meetings are considered significant in ARAC milestones to ensure the functioning of ARAC internally and to maintain its MLA international recognition by ILAC&IAF. More than 70 participants from Arab accreditation bodies and stakeholders attended the meetings, where key decisions were taken by ARAC members towards the sustainability of ARAC. Notably, a resolution has been endorsed  for hosting the ARAC Secretariat in Tunisia; the Sudanese Accreditation Body (SDAC) upgraded its membership to full member; and the Lebanese Accreditation Body (COLIBAC) was accepted as associate member.

In the margin of these annual meetings, regional workshops for ARAC members took place for the implementation of the new/revised requirements of the standards ISO/IEC 17011:2017 and the revised IAF Mandatory Documents (IAF MD 17: Witnessing Activities for the Accreditation of Management Systems Certification Bodies), as well as a workshop on Risk Management in Accreditation of Conformity Assessment Bodies. Moreover, ARAC Gender and Governance policies were presented and discussed, and a partnership event was organized to enhance technical cooperation and inter-relationships between ARAC accreditation bodies members.

Learn more about ARAC: http://www.arac-accreditation.org  

For more information:  Mr. Rafik Feki (R.Feki [at] unido.org (R[dot]Feki[at]unido[dot]org))