IEC and PASC strengthen ties with cooperation agreement

	IEC General Secretary Aharon Amit (left) with Fabió Tobon, Chair of PASC XXX

The IEC and the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at further improving the coordination activities of the two organizations. At the signing of the agreement in September, IEC General Secretary & CEO, Ronnie Amit said: "PASC is an important regional player in the standards world. Importantly, PASC does not develop its own standards, but looks to the likes of the IEC for International Standards that can be used and implemented across the entire PASC region. We hope this cooperation agreement will strengthen further the already strong ties between the organizations."

The agreement was signed by Fabió Tobon, Chair of PASC XXX (thirty), and was witnessed by PASC Standing Committee Chair, Gary Kushnier.

In its charter, PASC states: "The importance of international standardization to trade and commerce is recognized throughout the world. Countries on the Pacific Rim agree on the need for a forum to strengthen international standardization programs of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and to improve the ability of Pacific Rim standards organizations to participate in these programs effectively."

The new IEC-PASC agreement has a primary objective to "promote the development, use and adoption of IEC International Standards (IS) in response to market demands at regional level, and thus to facilitate world trade". The agreement aims to increase the participation from the region in the IEC’s work and to accelerate the electrotechnical standardization process in response to market demands, especially increasing demands in the region. Furthermore, the agreement offers a channel for non-IEC members of PASC to be kept up to speed on IEC-related activities and developments."

For further information on PASC, visit www.pascnet.org.