Quality times vol 2 iss 1 nqi newsletter 08 05 2015

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QualityTimes

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NATIONAL QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR NIGERIA

A quarterly newsletter published by the National Quality Infrastructure Project – a project funded by European Union’s 10th EDF Programme for Nigeria.

E D I T O R I A L

N O T E S

building trust for trade

C O N T E N T S

TRADE PARTNERSHIPS – THE BASIS FOR IMPROVED QUALITY In the past two years, our work on the NQI Project for Nigeria has ensured an awareness of the economic rationale for improving on the level of quality that exists in Nigeria. Within the policy landscape, the grounds for best practice are progressively changing existing trade standards in Nigeria. Through the efforts of the NQI Project, a universal culture of quality has become a hot topic among policymakers in Nigeria. The Nigerian Government through the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment voiced its commitment on 17 March 2015, to implement the crucial policy recommendations of the Green Paper for the Nigeria National Quality Policy. Thus far, the NQI Project has focused its technical expertise and financial support to create an enabling atmosphere for new Quality Infrastructure (QI) institutions to flourish. Several ongoing programmes aim to build the capacity of government MDAs, the quality control profession, and the Organised Private Sector in Nigeria. Work is ongoing to develop standards-based industrial practices and an innovation-driven approach to legal reform which will help correct existing gaps in the countrywide systems for quality control, business credibility and policy administration – using the vehicles of the Nigerian National Accreditation Service (NiNAS), and the Working Group on Technical Regulations (WG-TR) – to better improve Nigeria’s performance in the international markets. This second issue of Quality Times illustrates the benefits of cooperation and partnership to the success of the of industrialisation process. It highlights the Quality Policy success story that follows the efforts of the National Steering Committee on Quality Policy to define a quality culture for Nigeria, and also the connections with the regional Quality System ECOQUAL for West Africa. Of equal note is the rising interest among local businesses that support the trade promotion infrastructure to offer regulated services for product testing and laboratory calibration. An exclusive interview with Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) voices the reaction spurred on by the need of organisations in Nigeria to adapt to the demands of recognising the usefulness of international trade confidence as tool of economic development.

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Editorial Notes

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News and Features

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Success Story

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Partnerships and Events

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Tools and Resources

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- From the desk of the Editor.

This project is funded by the European Union

This project is implemented by UNIDO

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

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