Standards and conformity assessment offer practical solutions to many of the problems of developing countries. Developing countries and countries making the transition from a centralized to a market economy make up some three quarters of ISO's membership and similar numbers for the World Trade Organization (WTO). For them, standards and conformity assessment are an important source of technological know-how for developing their economy and raising their capability to export and compete on global markets. On a national level, most developing countries lack an adequate Metrology, Accreditation, Standards and Quality (MAS-Q) infrastructure. They lack funding, technical expertise and knowledge of international accepted practices and the functioning and maintenance of adequate metrology and laboratory testing facilities. The level of sophistication and awareness with respect to standards development and conformity assessment is low in most developing countries and it may take several years and considerable investment to improve this situation. On an international level, while many developing countries are members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrical Commission, (IEC) they do not participate actively in their working committees nor in the international Mutual Recognition Agreements or Memorandums of Understanding that relate to conformity assessment activities.
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