The West African Accreditation System (SOAC) officially presented its 2018–2025 Assessment report to Dr. Arthur Lilas Trimua, Minister Delegate in charge of Investment Promotion and Economic Sovereignty of the Togolese Republic. Present were the President of the High Authority for Quality and the Environment, Arzouma LARE BORTRE, the Director General of the Togolese Approval Committee (COTAG), Dr. Koffivi LAKOUSSAN. This meeting is part of SOAC's new approach which is to annually share its assessment and perspectives with the authorities of member countries, thus strengthening collaboration with stakeholders and principals and commitment to the development of conformity assessment and accreditation.
The report highlights the significant progress made by SOAC during the period 2018–2025 and sets out strategic directions for the next phase. The objective is to consolidate the achievements and increase the impact of actions carried out for economic development and consumer protection.
Performance of Togo in the period 2018–2025: Togo has experienced remarkable progress as the 3rd contributor to the SOAC network, with 9 accreditations issued and 12 evaluators and experts trained and operational within the regional system. These figures reflect Togo's growing commitment to strengthening its capacities in conformity assessment and accreditation.
On the central page of this strategic report is the STDF PG 770 program: “Use of digital tools to improve compliance with food safety standards in West Africa”. This program is highlighted as an essential pillar for modernizing conformity assessment approaches, facilitating trade and strengthening confidence in the quality of food products in West Africa.