New twinning project to support the Azerbaijan standardisation system

FIIAPP will implement the Twinning project to support Azerbaijan to harmonise its national standardisation system in consortium with Sweden and Germany, which is leading the project.  

The project was presented over the WebeX platform, which included a description of the project’s approach and scope. The virtual meeting was coordinated from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and involved the participation of members of the consortium, including Spain, Germany and Sweden, as well as the consular representatives from the countries involved.  

Following the award by the European Union Delegation in Azerbaijan and the beneficiary country a tentative start date has been set for 1 May 2020. 

The beneficiary institution will be the Azerbaijan Institute for Standardisation (AZSTAND), which will be supported by a consortium made up of highly qualified experts in the field of standardisation (DIN, UNE and SIS), the German Ministry of Industry and Commerce and other relevant authorities. On the part of Spain, the specialist institution is the Spanish Association for Standardisation (UNE). 

The project is funded by the European Union and supports Azerbaijan to enable it to achieve the main objectives of the agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).   The TBT are international trade measures that establish prescriptions for products to guarantee different standards relating to quality, health, environmental protection and product information, among others. Their purpose is to protect the population’s right to informed free choice regarding the products they consume, both those which are domestically produced and those from other countries.  

For 18 months, the consortium will work on 3 main components: corporate governance; digital transformation; and financing mechanisms to contribute to establishing a functioning technical standards system that positively impacts the Azerbaijan economy.  

 For more information on the theme of the project “Support for the Azerbaijan Standardisation Institute to Implement the National Plan to Harmonise the National Standardisation System with International Requirements”, see: 

Series on World Trade Organization agreements: Technical Barriers to Trade