The 8th Meeting of the Metrology Council of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) was held on October 22, 2020 for the first time via video conferencing due to COVID-19 Pandemic measures.
In addition to Turkey, which organized the meeting, 57 representatives from 24 member and observer countries, including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Morocco, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Iraq, Iran, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Uganda and Jordan, members of the Organization of Cooperation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and SMIIC MC, attended the meeting.
The meeting was also attended by the representatives of Gulf Association for Metrology (GULFMET), which is on the agenda to become a liaison organization with SMIIC MC.
Within the scope of the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic, scientific studies and projects carried out for halal product testing and certification, production of related reference materials in SMIIC Metrology Council (SMIIC MC) member countries, as well as the projects carried out by TÜBİTAK UME, were presented at the meeting. Participants were informed about the possibilities of TÜBİTAK UME, which has a comprehensive infrastructure in this field, the projects it has realized, the joint work that can be done with other member countries and the contributions that our country can make to Islamic Countries.
At the meeting, where the latest status and importance of the work carried out within the scope of the SMIIC MC Capacity Building Program (Metrology Council Technical Capacity Building Program - TCBP), which is coordinated by TÜBİTAK UME, was emphasized, it was expressed that the training part of the program, which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could be done via internet connection. Saudi Arabia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which take part in the coordination of the program together with Turkey, informed the representatives of the member countries that they will contribute to the internet-connected training.
It was also decided to establish a working group consisting of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Côte d'Ivoire, Iran, Cameroon, Malaysia, Sudan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Uganda to work under the chairmanship of Turkey for the preparation of SMIIC MC 2021 work plan.
SMIIC was established in 2010 within the Organization for Cooperation of Islamic Countries (OIC), aiming to develop national quality infrastructures in cooperation in order to eliminate incompatibilities in technical issues that constitute an obstacle to trade among Islamic countries.
