KENYA – The president elect of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), Eddy Njoroge, has unveiled that he will set up office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mr Eddy Njoroge, who was elected as president ISO in September last year as the first African to head the position, will serve for two years between January 2020 and December 2022 taking over from John Walter.

Speaking during the 34th ISO Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) plenary, Njoroge said he would advocate inclusion of views from developing countries on standards formulation.

The meeting held in Nairobi, attracted over 130 conformity assessment experts from the world to deliberate on Standards and strategies to enhance conformity assessment.

Mr Njoroge noted that “effective, efficient and internationally recognized inspection, testing and certification services that are compliant with World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements will be integral” in promoting global value chains.

“With a size-able proportion of ISO members being from developing countries, their participation in the international standards setting process is imperative in order to enjoy the full benefits of a globalized economy and consequently a share in the future growth in world trade.

“Standards formulation should no longer be preserve of the developed countries that are later forced on developing countries keen on exporting goods to developed world.

“This will enable developing countries, among them Kenya to participate in international trade as their goods will have met standards they participated in making,” he added.

ISO, through the National Standard Bodies and National Certification Bodies, aims to contribute to improving developing countries economic growth and access to world markets and helping to achieve sustainable development.

Among other integral issues deliberated at the forum include laboratory competence and market surveillance which are important in ensuring conformity in the African region.

Founded on February 23, 1947, the organisation consists of 162-member-countries with an aim of promoting worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards.

The former KenGen chief executive, Mr Njoroge, was unanimously elected to head the organisation during the ISO General Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland, last year.

Among his ambition include strengthening developing countries’ engagement in ISO activities in order to help the nations maximise the value of international standardization and more so on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).