OREANDA-NEWS. January 24, 2011. A workshop on "The role of the national quality infrastructure in Uzbekistan's modernization strategy" was held in Tashkent. It was hosted by Uzstandart agency in partnership with the World Bank, German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and German National Metrology Institute (PTB).

In recent years, the quality of manufactured products and services has become more central to Uzbekistan's sustainable economic growth. To stimulate trade and technology diffusion, Uzbekistan is undergoing efforts to harmonize its standards with those of its main trading partners and increase the number of local companies with international certification.

Uzstandart agency is a body ensuring implementation of national policy in the fields of standardization, metrology and quality assurance in Uzbekistan.

"In today's business environment, an export-oriented and industry-friendly Quality Infrastructure is a prerequisite for access to regional and global markets and a key determinant of competitive advantage," said Takuya Kamata, the World Bank's Country Manager for Uzbekistan.

"An internationally-harmonized national quality infrastructure will increase Uzbekistan's global competitiveness. It will lead to better opportunities for innovation and improving the quality of domestic products, subsequently increasing competitiveness and opening opportunity for greater trade with countries out of the CIS region".

The workshop brought together the representatives from the government and quality infrastructure institutions, testing laboratories, business sector, research institutions, consumer and environmental protection and donor organizations.

The event helped to raise awareness among stakeholders about the potential for improving the services provided to the enterprise sector by Uzbekistan's national quality infrastructure.

International speakers from the US, Germany and Turkey presented experiences and good practices learned in other countries, leading to an animated discussion about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The World Bank team presented the results and policy recommendations of a forthcoming report on the potential for upgrading the national quality infrastructure as a way to improve the quality and global competitiveness of Uzbekistan's enterprises.

The report identifies several factors that limit quality upgrading in Uzbekistan, and proposes step-by-step reforms to improve the structure of the quality infrastructure and reach international best practices about transparency, openness, consensus, impartiality, technical credibility and the voluntary nature of standards.

Such reforms would significantly help industrial enterprises to increase their access to high-quality inputs and encourage adoption of international standards by small enterprises, leading to a better investment climate and increased competitiveness.

Uzbekistan joined the World Bank in 1992. The World Bank's mission in the country is to improve people's livelihoods through being a partner in economic reforms, supporting the modernization of the country's social sectors and infrastructure, and sharing its knowledge and experience with the government and the people of Uzbekistan. Total World Bank commitments to Uzbekistan amount to about 0 million.