Norway has agreed to Extend Cooperation with PNAC for Accreditation and strengthening of Quality Culture in Pakistan
Press Releases
Norway to Extend Cooperation with PNAC
Norway has agreed to extend the existing collaboration with Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) into the phase- II of the project "Support to CapacityBuilding and good governance of PNAC" for another three years. In this connection a formal agreement was signed here on Tuesday between PNAC and Norwegian Accreditation (NA). The Project will be fully funded by the Norwegian Government under the framework agreement between Pakistan and Norway after formal approval by the competent authority. The objective of the project is to enhance the capacity of PNAC in the area of technical accreditation so that it becomes signatory to Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA) with Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation (APLAC) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). While speaking on the occasion Director General Norwegian Accreditation (NA) Mr. Torleif Hauge said that NA would continue to assist PNAC in capacity building and launching accreditation system in new fields under the project. It is worth mentioning that currently a two member Norwegian delegation headed by DG, NA is on a visit to Pakistan to discuss the progress made on the phase- I of the said project and plan the future activities. Mr. Torleif Hauge expressed his satisfaction over the progress of the project and said that it has gone very well and relations between the two accreditation bodies are exemplary. He also disclosed that NA is currently working to replicate the model of collaboration to develop the capacity of other developing countries in the region such as Bangladesh. In this regard, he indicated the possibility of making use of resources of PNAC for Bangladesh. He pointed out that the objective of capacity building has successfully been achieved in selected areas but more need to be done in this regard. He added strengthening PNAC would enable to promote quality culture that be beneficial for consumer in Pakistan and would provide enhanced business opportunities for export oriented industry. In a meeting with Secretary, Ministry of Science & Technology Mr. Saifullah Khan Sherwani & Mr. Shehryar Khan, Joint Technological Adviser, Ministry of Science & Technology both Director General (NA) Mr. Torleif Hauge and Director General, PNAC, Engr. Shaukat Hussain were confident that PNAC shall soon join the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) established by ILAC and APLAC. Mr. Torleif Hauge also informed that a regulation has already been approved of the European Union parliament where use of accreditation as tool to control the quality of tests of labs has been made mandatory. He pointed out that this regulation will have tremendous effect on trade activities in Europe. Speaking on the occasion, DG, PNAC Shaukat Hussain thanked Norwegian Accreditation and Norwegian government for their continuous and dedicated support towards the capacity building of PNAC.
