In the presence of the UAE's Minister of Environment and Water

Dubai, July 14, 2008: Members of the Higher Organizing Committee of ISO Dubai 2008 have met recently in the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) offices in Dubai to discuss the progress in preparations of the upcoming ISO 31st General Assembly that will be held in the city in October, the first time the event has been staged in the Middle East and North Africa.

The meeting was headed by H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water; Chiarman of Higher Organizing Committee and in presence of H.E. Waleed Bin Falah Al Mansouri Director General of Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, Major Mohammed Ahmad Al Hammadi from Naturalization and Residency Department, Mr. Khalid Al Jallaf from  Dubai Health Authority, Mr. Abdulla Yousef Al Ali from Roads and Transports Authority, Mr. Jerad Bacher from Dubai Tourism Marketing Department , Mohammed Ahmad Al Mulla Director of Metrology Department and General Coordinator of the committee and  Mr. Farooq Al Saleh  ESMA Head of Public Relation also from conference organizing DNATA World of Events Shelly Page, Annie Thomas, Lea-Ann Randall, and Lindsay Bowman were attended the meeting.

They discussed general progress with the planning and presentation of the event, dealing specifically with marketing and public relations activities, logistics, transport, registration, visas, and the social programme - showing delegates the best of the UAE.

The ISO's 31st general assembly will take place in October 12-17 at the Grand Hyatt Dubai and will be attended by representatives drawn from the organisation's 157 member countries.

The UAE is already a pioneer in international standards. DP World, which has its flagship operations in Dubai, was the first global marine terminal operator to achieve specification to ISO/PAS 28000:2005, the specification for supply chain security management systems, and many other companies have been awarded ISO ratings. 

-Ends- 

International Standards Organisation
The ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. ISO, a non-governmental organization, has a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates its member countries. Currently, the ISO network is made up of national standards institutes of 157 countries, with one member per country.

Its role is to form a bridge between the public and private sectors, enabling a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society. Its member institutes are from both the government or mandated by the government and the private sector.

ISO develops voluntary technical standards which add value to all types of business operations.  It develops only the standards that are required by the market, such as standards to support the reduction of greenhouse gases and emissions. These standards are developed by the ISO's technical committees, made up of experts in the sector relating to the standard.

The name is derived from the Greek Isis, meaning "equal". This name was chosen to give it a short, all-purpose name because otherwise "International Organization for Standardization" would have different acronyms in different languages ("IOS" in English, "OIN" in French for Organisation internationale de normalisation).

For more information, please visit www.iso.org

Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology
Established in 2001, ESMA's vision is to be the pioneering authority in the fields of Standardization, Conformity, and Metrology at regional and international levels and to establish best quality and excellence as guiding principles that support the national economy.

As a full member of the ISO, ESMA's role is to advise all stakeholders about standards development, as well as to ensure the UAE's standards are in line with scientific developments, including ISO standards.

Consistently taking into consideration the social, economic, health and safety interests of the public, ESMA makes certain that the services and products are of the quality and in conformity with the approved standards. In addition, ESMA spreads awareness of the different standardization activities through various outlets.  ESMA's strategy supports the national economy and welcomes in a new era of excellence and quality within the UAE.

As part of its role as the sole authority in the UAE related to quality infrastructure of the country (standards, metrology, conformity assessment and accreditation) ESMA is actively involved in international organisations including (ILAC), (OIML), and (IECEE) In September 2007, ESMA became the United Arab Emirates IECEE Member Body.

ESMA's Chairman is the UAE Minister of Economy, H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed AlMansoori. The Director General is H.E. Waleed Bin Falah Al-Mansouri.

For more information, please visit www.esma.ae

For more media information, please contact;
Maysoon Baraky
Milestones Marketing Communications FZ LLC
Tel. .: 04 365 8491
Fax : 04 3678097
Mobile : 050 2561157
Email : maysoon@milestonesmc.com

© Press Release 2008