THT-A standard harmonization process has been prepared by the technical harmonization committee (THC) of the two standards’ bodies of Somaliland and Ethiopia. The committee comprised of technical experts from regulatory, manufacturer, standards bodies, private business, professional associations and conformity assessment enterprises. The standards comprised of 17 standards on agricultural products, on foods and related and construction material standards.
Harmonization of the standards refers to development and use of a mutually established single reference/document with greater coverage of essential requirements for agreed scope of a standard between two or more standard bodies. It also the extent to which standards can fit together and create the best workable solution without essentially going to attempt uniformity of different standards between the countries.
The harmonization process was supported by trademark east African company, which works on the aim of growing prosperity in East Africa through trade. The development of the standards considered the current status of trade between the two countries and the future trade needs for improvement and to strong economic ties.
The published harmonization standards officially launched in Addis Ababa by Mr. Bonsa Bayissa, deputy director General of Ethiopian Standards Agency and Commissioner Musa Hassan of Somaliland Quality Control commission.
On the other hand, Members of the Somaliland Quality Assurance Agency has completed last week a training in Ethiopia, where during their training, the staff learned to research different types of products.