30, 2020, Travis Murdock, ASTM staff manager, represented ASTM as a panelist for the “Standards and Education” webinar hosted by ARSO. Work in 2021 is expected to begin virtually, with face-to-face meetings planned in West Africa and the United States in 20. Agency for International Development and managed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Standards Alliance program offers technical assistance to developing countries. In addition, building on the success and demonstrated interest in a program held in November 2019, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and ASTM International were approved by the Standards Alliance in March 2021 to work on a three-year project focusing on harmonizing petroleum standards for West Africa. The program attracted over 60 participants.
As a follow-up, ASTM planned the event, which was supported by ARSO promotional efforts and included a presentation from members of the committee on manufactured masonry units (C15).
The Rwanda Standards Board, an MoU partner, had made notifications regarding its interest in related standards to the WTO in July 2020. Over the past few years, ASTM has celebrated a number of Africa-related success stories, including an invitation by our new regional MoU partner, the Arab Industrial Development, Standardization, and Mining Organization (AIDSMO), to present on “ASTM’s Contributions in Personal Protective Equipment to Face Public Health Challenges.” Held March 25, webinar participants included representatives of 14 of AIDSMO’s member states with whom ASTM maintains MoUs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.Īnother successful ASTM event in Africa was the “Manufactured Masonry Units” webinar hosted Oct. This year, ASTM has been engaging virtually with a new Ethiopian expert and three other participants from the Philippines, Bahamas, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the SEP. In addition, ASTM has hosted six standards experts from Africa since 2006 through its Standards Expert Program (SEP). One of these principles promotes developing countries’ participation in standards development. These programs form part of ASTM’s commitment to the principles of the World Trade Organization’s Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (WTO/TBT). Since July 2020, representatives from 17 African countries have participated in ASTM’s online capacity-building programs. The participation of African stakeholders continues to grow.
Currently, two additional African countries and two regional economic communities (RECs) have pending MoU agreements with ASTM. The MoU signed in May with Burkina Faso brings the total number of MoUs worldwide to 118 since the inception of this program in 2001. Through its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Program, ASTM International currently has agreements with the national standards bodies (NSBs) of 30 African countries (of a total of 55 on the continent) and three regional agreements, including one with the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO).
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The success of each of these areas will depend largely on African governments and their economic bloc, and the African Union and its commitment to the use of international standards under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA). Investor interest is driven by many factors, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where abundant natural resources, raw materials, and the untapped manufacturing industry all spur investment - as do the financial services, healthcare, hospitality, energy, and consumer goods sectors. However, Africa as a continent is very attractive to foreign investors from around the globe, including the European Union, BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries, and the United States. It is also known for being the second driest continent, and the poorest economically in the world. Africa is known for its diverse ethnic groups, the Egyptian Pyramids, the Sahara Desert, and mining.