UNIDO - AfTIAS Newsletter, September 2018

We are pleased to share with you the third issue of the newsletter on UNIDO’s interventions under the Aid for Trade Initiative for the Arab States (AfTIAS).

The scope of technical assistance provided by UNIDO within AfTIAS has been widening, with two additional projects being implemented as of beginning of 2018. In Libya, UNIDO is bringing its expertise in the field of export and Business Development Services to design a National Export Strategy. In Iraq, UNIDO is working alongside the Central Organization for Standards and Quality Control (COSQC) to upgrade the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) testing capacities of the country.

This issue also highlights the main achievements related to other ongoing projects implemented under AfTIAS. 250 Palestinian SMEs have been trained, assessed and analyzed on export related themes. A series of workshops took place in GCC countries to collect the data for an SME/institution survey on economic benefits of standards in the region. In Sudan, assessors from the Sudanese Accreditation Council (SDAC) have been trained on ISO/IEC 17025 (2017), and the National Quality Policy will be presented to key stakeholders during a validation workshop in Khartoum. Lastly, M. Riadh Soussi, Upgrading Office Director in Tunisia, explains in an interview how the new dynamics for industrial upgrading aim at improving the competitiveness and developing exports of Tunisian enterprises.

Read the full newsletter here.

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