GSO Technical Council Concludes 63rd Meeting in Riyadh
The Technical Council of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) concluded its 63rd meeting, held at GSO headquarters in Riyadh on Wednesday and Thursday, 16–17 September 2026, with the participation of Their Excellencies, heads and representatives of the national standardization bodies of the GCC Member States.
The meeting opened with remarks by H.E. Shaikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic and Foreign Trade in the Kingdom of Bahrain and Chair of the current session of the Technical Council. He welcomed the participants and expressed his appreciation to the national standardization bodies for accepting the invitation and participating in the meeting.
H.E. emphasized the importance of the meeting in light of the rapid developments taking place in industry, emerging technologies, digital transformation, and sustainability. He highlighted the need to continuously develop standards, technical regulations, and related procedures to achieve a balance between economic development requirements, consumer protection, and enhancing the competitiveness of GCC products and services.
For his part, H.E. Eng. Jabor Mohamed Al-Naimi, President of the GCC Standardization Organization, welcomed Their Excellencies, the heads of the national standardization bodies, and members of the participating delegations. He expressed his appreciation for their attendance and participation and looked forward to the meeting’s recommendations and decisions contributing to the advancement of Gulf standardization and strengthening joint cooperation among the Member States.
The Technical Council expressed its appreciation to H.E. Eng. Nawaf bin Ibrahim Al-Hamad Al-Mana for his outstanding efforts during his tenure as President of GSO. The Council commended the achievements and progress made in GSO’s activities and operations during his tenure and wished him every success in his role as President of the Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology.
During the meeting, the Council discussed a number of technical and organizational matters related to standardization activities and adopted a package of key decisions. These included the approval of 812 draft Gulf standards, 9 translation projects for Gulf standards, 18 technical amendments and corrigenda to internationally adopted Gulf standards, and 7 technical amendments and corrigenda to Gulf technical regulations and independently developed Gulf standards, in addition to the endorsement of 25 Gulf technical regulations.
The Council also approved the formation of a working group to develop the GULFMET Strategy, as well as guidelines for legal metrology. It further approved the launch of the “GCC Standardization Day” initiative as an annual GCC occasion aimed at raising awareness of the importance of standardization and its role in supporting development and the GCC economy.
The meeting also witnessed the recognition of a number of former leaders and Technical Council members, as well as the outstanding GCC technical committees for 2024 and 2025, in appreciation of their efforts and contributions to advancing Gulf standardization and supporting the development of GSO’s activities.
The 63rd meeting of the Technical Council forms part of ongoing joint GCC efforts to advance the standardization and quality framework and strengthen integration and coordination among national standardization bodies. These efforts contribute to supporting the GCC Common Market, facilitating trade, enhancing the competitiveness of products and services, and strengthening consumer protection across the GCC Member States.
