BUJUMBURA August 11th (ABP) – The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce, Transport, Industry and Tourism Mrs. Faïda Catherine, proceeded on Tuesday August 9, 2022 in Bujumbura, to the opening ceremonies of the signing of the memorandum agreement between the Burundi Development Agency (ADB) and the Burundian Bureau of Standardization and Quality Control (BBN). It was with the aim of strengthening investment and export promotion actions in the sense that this cooperation framework will solve problems related to compliance with standards and certification.
Ms. Faïda indicated that this memorandum of understanding between the ADB and the BBN will have a positive impact on the access of Burundian products to external markets in order to increase the level of compliance with standards, competitiveness and the quality required by the export markets.
She added that their collaboration will make it possible to organize training and information workshops for exporters on international standards, to organize seminars to raise awareness of access to the external market, rules of origin and obstacles techniques to trade.
Mrs. Faida Catherine also pointed out that their collaboration will make it possible to support companies at the level of project design in order to guarantee compliance with normative requirements and the required quality and to participate jointly in company control missions on compliance. standards and quality and provide consistent technical advice.
As for the Director General of the ADB, Mr. Didace Ngendakumana, he indicated that the BBN and the ADB are committed to increasing the market access capacities and the level of competitiveness of Burundian products on the markets in general and export markets in particular. They also undertake to continue advocacy actions with decision-makers in order to have all the political support necessary to solve the challenges in terms of resources faced by the institutions of standardization, quality control and other related requirements. to commerce and industry, he said.
Mr. Ngendakumana did not forget to point out that this collaborative framework will bring added value in order to gradually guarantee production that complies with standards and thus give more chances to Burundian products, strengthen their visibility and better position themselves on the market. the local, regional and international market.
On behalf of the BBN, the Director General of that institution, Mr. Severin Sindayikengera, pointed out some major challenges that hamper the accomplishment of their mission, among others, the lack of personnel in terms of numbers, the strengthening of staff capacities, the difficulties of supervising companies in terms of compliance with certification standards and quality management. He also cited the lack of motivation of the staff and of the board of directors as well as the electric current.
Mr. Sindayikengera took the opportunity to point out that the BBN and the ADB share common objectives in economic development and are committed to deepening their collaboration in the area of export facilitation.