Kuwait City: The State of Qatar actively participated in the 60th meeting of the Technical Council of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), hosted by Kuwait on April 21 and 22. The Qatari delegation was led by HE Chairperson of Qatar General Organization for Standardization and Metrology (QGOSM), Eng. Mohammed bin Saud Al Musallam, highlighting Qatar's ongoing commitment to enhancing Gulf integration in standardization to bolster consumer protection and support trade among GCC countries.

According to Qatar News Agency, the meeting's agenda covered crucial topics, such as the implementation of decisions from the 59th GSO Technical Council Meeting and reviewing GSO presidency memos related to specifications, standards, conformity, communication, and institutional services. Preparations for the 9th meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs were also discussed.

The council approved 199 draft Gulf standards, 7 draft technical regulations, and recommended their submission to the Ministerial Committee for approval as Gulf technical regulations. Additionally, 9 technical amendments were adopted as international standards by the Gulf. Discussions also included updates from the Steering Committee of Metrology and a project on updating the technical regulation concerning expiration dates for food products.

In the domain of conformity, the council reviewed a draft Gulf technical regulation for electric vehicles and a memorandum on the 100 most exchanged commodities among GCC countries. Outputs from the Gulf Association for Laboratories (GCCLAB) and other conformity-related topics were also addressed. Financial matters, including the final account for 2024, the strategic plan framework for 2026-2030, and the draft work of the 9th meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Standardization Affairs, were discussed.

The meeting was attended by HE GSO President Eng. Nawaf bin Ibrahim Al Hamad Al Mana, representatives from member states, and a representative from the GCC General Secretariat. Separately, HE the QGOSM Chairperson took part in the 21st meeting of the Board of Directors of the GCC Accreditation Center in Kuwait on April 20, where discussions included the Director General's report for April 2024 to March 2025, recommendations from the 20th meeting, internal regulations, the final account for 2024, and the training plan for 2025.