Qatari delegation was represented in the meeting by assistant Chairman of Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology (QS) Eng. Nawaf Ibrahim Al Hamad Al Mana. The meeting includes 45 Islamic countries and 14 specialized regional and international organizations.
The General Assembly, being concerned with the activities and work of the Institute, at its current meeting, discusses a number of technical, financial and administrative issues of importance and impact on the general policy of the institute, as well as presenting and discussing several reports on the performance and achievements of the institutes general secretariat, as well as the reports of the specialized technical councils for standardization, accreditation and metrology. In addition to discussing and approving the financial statements for the previous year and the estimated budget for the following year.
The idea of establishing an appropriate mechanism for standardization among Islamic countries was raised during the first meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) in 1984, until the adoption of the institutes in 2010.
The institute, which was established in 1998 and is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the specialized institutions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and one of the highest levels of regional organizations for standardization at the Islamic and Arab levels. The institute aims to enhance cooperation and coordination between Islamic countries in the field of standardization and the halal product specification sector, as well as unifying standard specifications to enable member states to achieve the economic benefit guaranteed by these specifications, to enhance cooperation and trade exchange, and to achieve consensus among member states in the various fields of standardization.
Qatar joined the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) in 2017, during the session of the 12th meeting of the Institute's General Assembly.
