ZAMBIAN REGULATORY AGENCIES TO COLLABORATE WITH MALAWI BUREAU OF STANDARDS
Three Zambian regulatory agencies have pledged to closely work with the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) to facilitate trade and harmonise regulatory interventions between the two countries.
The three agencies are the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS), the Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA), and the Zambia Metrology Agency (ZMA).
The three agencies and MBS, working with the two Ministries of Commerce, Trade and Industry from Malawi and Zambia, are expected to finalise the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the first quarter of next year.
This follows consultative meetings held in Lusaka from December 16-20, 2024, between representatives of the three institutions, the two Ministries, and MBS.
Delegates from Zambia and Malawi have since drafted a Mutual Recognition Agreement as part of the implementation of the MoU.
The delegates have also prepared a gap analysis report for the respective clusters, including standardisation, metrology, inspection, certification, and testing, as well as a schedule of standards.
The delegates also agreed to establish a Zambia-Malawi Joint Implementation Committee.
MBS Director General, Bernard Thole, said his entity was committed to ensuring that the MoU was finalised within the first quarter of next year.
Thole further called for continuous collaborative engagements between Zambia’s National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) institutions and MBS to foster trade between the two countries.
Speaking on behalf of the Zambian agencies, ZMA Executive Director, Humphrey Nkobeni, said NQIs played an important role in strengthening trade, economic cooperation, mutual trust, and eliminating technical barriers to trade.
This was contained in a joint statement availed to Byta FM News by the three Zambian agencies.