Côte d’Ivoire and SOAC Headquarters Agreement, recently signed, has been presented to Hon. Minister of Trade & Industry

The Director General and Resident Representative of SOAC, Marcel Gbaguidi presented, on Wednesday, the copy of the SOAC headquarters agreement in Côte d'Ivoire to the Minister of Trade and Industry Honourable Souleymane Diarrassouba.
Signed by the Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and the Diaspora, Kandia Camara, this agreement, according to the Minister of Trade and Industry, is proof that Côte d'Ivoire counts respect his word given. "I can assure you that Côte d'Ivoire will fulfill all of its commitments," he promised.
For him, "the choice of Côte d'Ivoire, after a call for applications, to house the headquarters of this regional accreditation structure demonstrates the confidence of all the countries of the region in his country". He is convinced that the presence of such an organization in the area of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) constitutes an added value in the quality of the products.
In turn, Marcel Gbaguidi praised the series of actions of the Ivorian state in favor of his organization. Namely the decree authorizing the operation of the structure, the recognition of public utility and the recent signing of the headquarters agreement.
"This signature finalizes the legal installation of SOAC and in this context, we would like to thank the government of Côte d'Ivoire", he explained, listing some actions of the SOAC mid-term.
"We thank Côte d’Ivoire for what has been done in particular since March 2018. We have registered three years of implementation with around thirty accredited structures, half of which are in the country," he said.
He thinks that it is an additional facility that Côte d'Ivoire provides in relation to accreditation but also in relation to the international notoriety of SOAC which is expected so that recognized certificates of conformity can accompany exports where they are required.
Marcel Gbaguidi informed his host on the grant awarded to SOAC by UEMOA. “We met the President of the UEMOA Commission two months ago and he was very interested in the results achieved and he committed to renewing the grant to SOAC,” he revealed.
SOAC is an accreditation body covering UEMOA member states, comprising eight West African countries. It is emerging as an atypical model in the region. Around four multi-economy entities of this dimension are listed today in the world.
With a view to pooling resources and efficiency, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) assisted the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions in the establishment of SOAC through the Quality Programs funded by the European Union (EU) since 2001.

Source: APA NEWS Côte d'Ivoire

Publié le December 14, 2021

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