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The 19th Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) Plenary Meetings, hosted by the Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS) of the Innovation and Technology Commission, concluded successfully today (June 23). The meetings were held in Hong Kong from June 16 to 23.
More than 100 participants from over 30 economies in the Asia Pacific Region attended the meetings, during which they discussed the PAC's strategic plan governing the direction of its future work and reported on events organised in celebration of World Accreditation Day. They announced that three organisations have joined the PAC as new members.
Members also shared views on various aspects of accreditation and certification, and discussed the development of "Green Certification and Accreditation".
A seminar entitled "The Emerging Trend of Accreditation and Certification" co-organised by the HKAS and the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification (HKCTC) was also held. Some 300 participants, including PAC delegates, practitioners from the local testing and certification industry, technical officials from the Mainland, and representatives from various government departments, academic institutions, trade associations, public organisations and other stakeholders discussed the world trend in accreditation and certification.
The Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Miss Janet Wong, thanked the PAC delegates for bringing the 2012 plenary meetings to Hong Kong and for their contributions to improving the quality of accreditation.
Miss Wong pointed out that testing and certification is one of the six economic areas in which Hong Kong enjoys clear advantages and has potential for further development. The HKCTC was established in 2009 to facilitate the development of the industry. The Government will continue to work closely with the HKCTC and support the growth of the industry via the HKAS.
The PAC is a non-governmental organisation that seeks to facilitate world trade by promoting international acceptance of accredited certification results, and is recognised by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as a Specialist Regional Body. PAC's multilateral recognition arrangement forms part of the world-wide multilateral recognition arrangement framework administered by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
The HKAS has been a signatory to the PAC and the IAF's multilateral recognition arrangement of accreditation for quality management system certification since 2003. The arrangement's scope of recognition was recently extended to cover accreditation for environmental management system and product certifications. Certificates issued by HKAS-accredited certification bodies are now recognised by accreditation bodies in about 50 economies worldwide.
Ends/Saturday, June 23, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:00
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