BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 7. The Azerbaijan Accreditation Center (AAC) under the State Agency for Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Market Control under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been accepted as a full member of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation on Accreditation in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17025: 2017, Trend reports.
Meanwhile, it was noted that full membership in the Asia-Pacific Cooperation on Accreditation will create a basis for the recognition of the Azerbaijani accreditation system in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as for increasing the reliability of test and calibration results.
Moreover, it was noted that the Azerbaijan Accreditation Center (AzAK), subordinate to the State Agency for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was accepted as a full member of the Asia-Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) under the international standard ISO/ IEC 17025:2017 “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.”
This will ensure the recognition of conformity documents (calibration and test results, etc.) submitted by AzAK-accredited testing and calibration laboratories in the Asia-Pacific region, which will contribute to expanding cooperation with other members of the organization, as well as Azerbaijan's more active participation in the global accreditation system.
On July 30, 2024, AzAK officially submitted an application to the Asia-Pacific Regional Council (APAC) for full membership and the signing of a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). In this regard, APAC representatives conducted an expert assessment of AzAK's compliance with international accreditation requirements and determined its development prospects. Based on the positive results of the assessment, AzAK's application for full membership in APAC under the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 was approved," the statement said.
Subparagraph 8.5.1 of the Action Plan of the “State Program for 2023-2025 on the Adaptation of the National Standardization System to International Requirements,” approved by Decree No. 3721 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated January 23, 2023, provides for bringing the activities of the national accreditation body into line with the requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17011:2017 “Requirements for bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies,” ensuring its full membership in relevant international and regional accreditation organizations, as well as concluding mutual recognition agreements. Within this framework, AzAK's activities have been brought into line with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011:2017, including those of international and regional accreditation organizations.