KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan Standards and Quality Authority (ASQA) has signed a contract worth more than $46 million with an Indian company for the expansion and equipping of quality assurance laboratories.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday in Kabul in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, ASQA Director-General Haji Mullah Faizullah Tamim, the representative of the Indian international company TCRC, Dr Seket Bhowmik, the company’s representative in Afghanistan, Fatah Khan Mazloomyar and officials from relevant sectors.
Faizullah Tamim said he was pleased with the launch and implementation of this major project in the country’s quality infrastructure sector, describing it as an important step towards national development and public welfare.
He added that the five-year contract, valued at more than $46 million, would play a key role in strengthening the quality infrastructure through its implementation in Kabul and at the country’s border points.
According to him, the project would help improve the quality of domestic products and imports, benefiting the public and enabling high-quality Afghan products to access international markets.
Tamim also urged traders to avoid producing and importing low-quality goods and to align their business activities with recognised standards.
He said ASQA was working to further strengthen the country’s standardisation system and raise the quality of products and imports through the effective implementation of the project.
Under the agreement, standard laboratory complexes will be established and equipped over five years in Kabul and nine border points across the country, covering three main sectors: construction materials, electrical equipment and appliances and textiles, leather and paper products.
The contract also includes domestic and international training programmes for the authority’s professional staff, as well as the implementation of procedures to obtain internationally recognised quality certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
hz/sa
