Sustainable Development - Overview

International and regional standardisation plays an extremely important role in connecting countries and communities. This has long been recognised in the developed world, particularly in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region. Africa has now embraced standardization as a tool for promoting regional trade, especially in the SADC region. SABS is intimately involved in SADC initiatives, holding the secretariat of SADCSTAN (the SADC standards harmonization initiative) and SADCMEL (the SADC cooperation in legal metrology). SABS has also added its weight to the African Regional Standards Organisation (ARSO) which recently restructured itself into a pan-African standards harmonization body in support of the NEPAD initiatives.