Sunday 07 / December / 2025
Muscat: The meetings of the GCC Conformity Assessment Bodies Working Teams for 2025 commenced today in Muscat, with the participation of over 110 experts to discuss enhancing product safety and the mechanisms for applying unified GCC technical regulations.
The GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion organises the five-day meetings. National standardisation bodies from the GCC member states and a number of international organisations are also participating.
These meetings aim to reinforce the implementation of Technical Council Decision No. (59) and the decisions issued by the 10th Ministerial Committee for Standardisation Affairs meeting in Kuwait in October 2025. These decisions concern the completion of the adoption and application of sectoral technical regulations within the unified GCC Conformity Mark system. This contributes to achieving the highest levels of product safety in the GCC common market and facilitating inter-trade among member states.
Emad Khamis Al Shukaili, Director General of Standards and Metrology at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion, affirmed that Oman's hosting of these meetings translates the close partnership with the GSO and supports efforts to build an advanced quality infrastructure that boosts competitiveness and protects consumers and the environment.
In his speech, he explained that joint GCC action has seen a clear transition from the planning stage to implementation, through a unified platform for the GCC Conformity Mark and the application of the "One Application - Two Outputs" principle for issuing GCC and national conformity certificates via the "Hazm" platform. Hazm is an integrated digital compliance system that provides a register of approved products and a directory of conformity assessment bodies, along with direct technical support to ensure easy integration with participating entities.
The meetings will continue over the coming days through specialized working sessions discussing the technical requirements for sectors subject to GCC regulations, including electrical appliances, energy efficiency, and water rationalisation tools. They will also study operational challenges and the development of smart supporting services via the Hazm platform.
Experts will review best practices and member states' experiences in the field of conformity assessment, and ways to support economic operators and enhance control procedures at ports, ensuring a balanced and uniform application of technical regulations across all GCC states.
The meetings will conclude with a joint session to review the working teams' outputs and approve the future work plan, thereby enhancing GCC integration in quality infrastructure, raising market efficiency, and supporting the trajectory of industrial and commercial development in the GCC countries.
