From Our Correspondent 
PESHAWAR: Experts have underscored the need of ISO certification to bring Pakistani manufacturing products, especially export-oriented items up to international standards to enhance country’s export and ensure maximum access to the global market.
This, they stated during an awareness workshop/seminar on ‘ISO Standard Certification’ jointly organised by Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Riphah International University Islamabad here at the Chamber’s House on Friday.  
The session was presided over by the SCCI president Hasnain Khurshid Ahmad while the Riphah International University Islamabad Principle Investigator Prof. Dr Nawar Khan acted as moderator and keynote speaker on the occasion.
ISO certification is a seal of approval from a third party body that a company runs to one of the international standards developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Hasnain Khurshid stressed the ISO certification is essential to bring the export-oriented local items to international quality and compete them in the global market. He called for the modernization of ISO certification and simplifying the process of certification to facilitate the business community.
Besides, the chamber’s senior vice president Imran Khan Mohmand, vice president Javed Akhtar, executive members Pervez Khan Khattak, S Minhajuddin, Ejaz Khan Afridi, Naeem Qasmi, and Rashid Iqbal Siddique, Ishtiaq Muhammad, Akbar Khan, Irshad Iqbal, Bilal Mirza, a large number of traders and industrialists were present during the awareness seminar.
Emphasizing the need of quality-improvement and focusing on standardized, the speakers called for bringing Pakistani manufacturing products up to international standards to compete at the global market that would not only enhance the country’s export but Pakistani exporting items also gain high recognition at world level.
Dr Nawar Khan while delivering a lecture briefed the participation of different categories of ISO standardization, significance of ISO certification and Pakistan’s national and international position in this regard.
Senior official said that there is huge potential of ISO, which should be exploited efficiently and that can help to compete Pakistani manufacturing products in the global market in a befitting way.  He viewed the tendency regarding ISO as increasing in the country. 
As the novel coronavirus pandemic had badly hit all sectors in Pakistan, Dr Nawar said it has witnessed that the process of ISO certification was also slowed down during pre and post the Covid-19 scenario.
The experts stressed the need of bringing improvement in technical, financial and managerial efficiency to meet international standards for competing and obtaining world recognition of Pakistani export-oriented items at world level.
The policy would not only enhance local exporting items to the EU, US and rest of the global market but also boost up their demand as well, the experts said.
Dr Nawar Khan said Pakistan had signed on a number of international protocols/treaties regarding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), wherein reflection of ISO was also seen. Therefore, he said the importance of ISO certification is increasing with the passage of time.
The SCCI chief thanked the RIU Islamabad for organising an awareness session on such a crucial theme.
He expressed hope that the business community would have learnt many things about ISO certification after attending this awareness event that can also increase tendency among members about ISO certification.