The European Union (EU)-funded twinning project titled “Providing support to the Namibia Standards Institution (NSI)”, together with its partners and the industrialisation and trade ministry, will host the first-ever EU/Namibia Quality Infrastructure Forum on Tuesday, 18 April at a hotel in Windhoek.

The objective of the forum is to provide knowledge about how different (elements) of the Quality Infrastructure system are beneficial and crucial in achieving short and long-term economic development, social well-being, and emancipating global trade. This initiative corresponds well with the National Quality Policy (NQP), which is currently being implemented by the Government of the Republic of Namibia through the NSI. The forum will increase participants’ understanding of the significance of quality infrastructure for the effective promotion of quality products and services within and beyond domestic markets, as well as the significance of such infrastructure in facilitating access to international markets. 

The forum will also bring together a group of quality infrastructure governance bodies and experts from Europe and Namibia who are all involved in standardisation activities, conformity assessments, and quality assurance services. Experts will provide concrete illustrations of how international and national systems function, as well as share concrete examples of how the system works internationally and nationally. In addition, to encourage dialogue and go into depth, the forum will feature thematic breakout sessions on various aspects of quality infrastructure components: conformity assessment, trade policies and regulations, standardisation and metrology.

Implemented under the financing agreement of support to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation Plan in Namibia, the EU Twinning Project commenced in February 2022, with the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) and the NSI being the main beneficiaries.