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Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Minister of Trade and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization said "From the first day of its presidency of the G20, Saudi Arabia has endeavored to work hard in partnership and cooperation with all international partners to put all the opportunities and challenges on the table, to reach innovative and creative solutions in addition to visions that help overcoming the obstacles facing the global economy, and effective ways to support industry and promote inter-trade among countries".

 

This came during his speech at the launching of the International Standards Summit, which is being held within the program of international conferences on the sidelines of the year of the Saudi Presidency of the G20, and he continued: We successfully launched the first event on the sidelines of the G20 meetings to discuss the role of standards and international and national standardization authorities in enhancing industrial, economic and social capacities. This reaffirms the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's relentless pursuit and interest in discussing all issues that will shape a better future for our world, the international economy and humanity in general.

 

Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi noted that the Standards and National quality infrastructure elements play a vital role in raising safety rates and supporting national economies, facilitating inter-trade, not to mention its role in improving the health aspect of peoples by maintaining the safety of their food, medicine or other consumer products, and improving the level of services provided to them.

 

He pointed out that Saudi Arabia has made great efforts to manage the consequences of COVID-19, and has provided the world with a unique model for flexible crisis management in various areas, particularly health and economy. It has also been able to provide a global experience in which government efforts have integrated with the private sector, and digital transformation has played a prominent role in providing innovative and effective solutions. It has enabled citizens and residents of the Kingdom to obtain high-quality services from the beginning of the pandemic until now.

 

The Minister of Trade expressed his hope to come out of this summit with influential recommendations and results that will contribute to support the overall development process in the world and help to provide solutions and visions that will be reflected in the reality and the future of the global economy, to provide a dignified and safe life for all humanity.

 

For his part, Dr. Saad Othman Al-Kasabi the Governor of SASO has expressed his honor and pride that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is hosting the first global event specialized in the field of standards, as part of its pioneering initiatives in providing insights that stimulate integration and cooperation with all countries of the world for the good of humanity, recognizing the importance of strengthening cooperation in all fields to advance the achievement of the sustainable development goals, enhancing the role of standardization activities to improve the quality of services and products, and raising the rates of inter-trade among countries.

 

He added, In Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), we have exerted our efforts with our partners in the Secretariat of the G20 and fellow national authorities (Saudi Food and Drug Authority, and Communications and Information Technology Commission), as well as international standardization organizations, to organize this International Summit, believing in the vital role played by standards and quality infrastructure system in economic, industrial and even social development.

 

The Governor of SASO expressed his appreciation about the effective cooperation and sincere desire of all international organizations and national standardization authorities to clarify the basic vision of this summit. In addition, he expressed his hope that the summit's discussions will represent a strong impulse for the global standardization system to move forward towards making the standard a key enabler and a base for economic growth, industrial development, and commercial prosperity.

 

Dr. Saad Al-Kasabi stated in his speech that this summit discusses two important topics that emphasize the importance of standards in encountering the global challenges and crises, and provide appropriate solutions that respond to rapid technological developments in various fields. Noting that, the availability of unified standards agreed upon by all member States of international standardization organizations will grow the volume of inter-trade among countries and stimulate our economies to grow and prosper. We look forward to coming out of this meeting with common solutions and visions that enhance the ability of our countries to confront pandemics and crises, and look forward to the future to keep pace with modern technologies in various fields.

 

The International Standards Summit discussed in its first session "the role of standards in facing global crises". The session was chaired by His Excellency Dr. Hisham bin Saad Al-Jadhey, CEO of Saudi Food and Drug Authority, and the Secretary-General of the International Standardization Organization, Sergio Mujica, and the Secretary-General of the International Electrotechnical Commission Felipe Metzger, Dr. Reynard Scholl, Deputy to the Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Sector, along with Engineer Fahad Al-moammar, Vice President of the National Medical Products Company.

 

The second session of the summit discussed the role of standards in supporting digital transformation. The session was chaired by His Excellency Dr. Mounir El Desouki, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, with the participation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Standardization Management Board of the International Electrotechnical Commission Dr. Ralph Sporer, and the Vice President of ISO Dr. Scott Steedman, and the Chief of the Study groups in the standardization sector at the International Telecommunication Union, Dr. Bilel Jamushi, in addition to Eng. Abdalla Al-Obeikan, CEO of Obeikan Investment Group.