G/TBT/GEN/159  
 
4 February 2014  
(14-0645) Page: 1/8  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 IEC ACTIVITIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (JUNE - OCTOBER 2013) 
This document contains information provided by the IEC (International Electrotechnical 
Commission) at the TBT Committee meeting of 30- 31 October 2013 under Agenda Item 4 (Update 
by Observers). 
 
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This report to the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee highlights the activities of the IEC, 
its Members, Affiliates and Regional Centres related to increasing the participation of developing countries in IEC International Standardization and Conformity Assessment activities. 
1  EXPANSION OF THE IEC FAMILY 
1.1.  In September 2013, the IEC Affiliate Country Programme welcomed Saint Kitts and Nevis as 
its newest participant bringing the total number of countries in the IEC Family to 165: 82 Members 
and 83 Affiliates. The country is affiliated through its national standardization body. Saint Kitts and 
Nevis participated in the CATRTA (Canada-Americ as Trade-related Technical Assistance Program) 
workshop that was held back to back with the COPANT, the Pan American Standards Commission, 
General Assembly in April 2013 (see our June report). It was the opportunity for the IEC-LARC 
(IEC Regional Centre for Latin America) Manager to meet with the delegate from Saint Kitts and Nevis and to renew the invitation made by the IEC in 2012 to join its Affiliate Country Programme. The next step will be to bring together stakeholders from the private and the public sectors to 
establish a NEC (National Electrotechnical Committee) and start benefiting from what IEC can offer 
to support electrification and ensure electrical safety for the population. 
2  IEC REGIONAL CENTRES SUPPORT IEC MEMBERS  
2.1  IEC Regional Centre for Latin America 
2.1.  The IEC-LARC (IEC Regional Centre for Latin America), located in São Paulo, Brazil, is the 
focal point for the IEC in Latin America, helping to promote awareness of the IEC in the region, 
increase the use of IEC International Standards and IEC Conformity Assessment Systems and 
enhance participation and membership of countries in the region.  
a. CONCAMIN and COMENOR Forum – Mexico City, Mexico, 25 June 2013 IEC's former 
President, Jacques Régis, and the IEC-LARC Manager were present at the CONCAMIN
1, 
the confederation of Mexican chambers of industry, and COMENOR2, the Mexican council 
for standardization and conformity assessment, event. This annual forum hosts a large number of high-level representatives from government authorities and standardization 
entities, as well as regulators, allowing IEC Officers to network and promote the work of 
the Commission.  
2.2  IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre 
2.2.  The IEC-APRC (IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre), located in Singapore, has a twofold 
mission: to promote awareness of the IEC in the region, increase the use of IEC International 
                                               
1 http://www.concamin.mx/  
2 http://www.comenor.org.mx/  
 G/TBT/GEN/159 
 
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  Standards and enhance participation of all countries in the region in the Commission's work; and 
to provide additional staff support to IEC Technical Committees and Subcommittees in the same way the IEC Central Office does at present.  
a. Seminar on International Standardization fo r Semiconductor Devices – Singapore, 19 
July 2013 IEC-APRC collaborated with the IEC National Committee of Singapore, SSIA 
(Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association), JISC (Japanese Industrial Standards Committee) and PCSS (Promotion Committee of Semiconductor Standardization, Japan) 
to organize the seminar and promote the work of the IEC Technical Committee on 
Semiconductor Devices as well as its Subcommittees. Aside from promoting awareness of the industry in Singapore, the event was an  opportunity to gather interested industry 
parties to consider further participation in this area. Close to 40 participants attended 
the seminar which was held at the IEC-APRC. 
b. 2013 IHS DAY APAC Summit – New Delhi, India, 25 July 2013: The 2013 IHS DAY APAC 
(IHS DAY Asia-Pacific) Summit is the 2
nd regional, high-level, annual meeting organized 
by IHS for senior executives. The event focused on the business challenges and 
opportunities within India and the country's future within the global economy. IEC-APRC participated in the sessions on the "Role of Product Engineering & Design in Shaping the 
Global Industry" and "Innovation in Product Engineering – Mitigating Risk, Increasing 
Productivity and Adding Value with Critical  Business Information”. IEC-APRC explained 
that standards are the commercialization of research & development and encouraged the industry in India to participate more actively  in IEC Technical Committees so that it could 
influence the development of future standards.  More than 800 participants attended the 
event. 
c. Seminar on Green Standards – Xiamen, China, 8 September 2013: With regulatory 
authorities increasingly imposing requirements for energy efficient electrical and 
electronic products, while also reducing the use of hazardous substances, it is important for manufacturers to be aware of the latest developments in international standards and 
conformity assessment requirements as these are usually referred to by the regulators. 
IEC-APRC participated at the seminar which had as theme, “Promoting Green Development, Advancing Trade Capacity – the New Trend of International Cooperation”. A presentation was made introducing the IEC, its activities relating to green technology 
and encouraging active participation by Chinese experts. The seminar was held in 
conjunction with the 17
th CIFIT (China International Fair for Investment and Trade) and 
was organized by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) and the 
Fujian provincial Chamber of Commerce for mechanical and electrical equipment import 
and export. 
2.3  IEC Regional Centre for North America 
2.3.  The IEC-ReCNA (IEC Regional Centre for North America), located in Worcester, MA, USA, is 
responsible for coordinating the work of 21 IEC Technical Committees and 19 Subcommittees. Many of these committees have their secretariats  in North America. In addition, the IEC-ReCNA 
provides support for: 
a. IEC MSB (Market Strategy Board) which identifies the principal technological trends and 
market needs in the IEC’s fields of activity.  
b. IEC SMB SG 3 (Standardization Management Board Strategic Group 3) for Smart Grid 
which comprises technical experts from 14 different countries representing several areas 
of the Smart Grid including, but not limited to, bulk generation, transmission, 
distribution, metering and the customer. 
c. IEC SMB SG 6 for Electrotechnology for Mobility which provides recommendations for an 
IEC strategy encompassing the complete domain of automotive electrotechnics and 
electromobility. G/TBT/GEN/159 
 
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  d. IEC SMB ACTEL (Advisory Committee on Telecommunication) which comprises experts  
from 6 different countries dealing with coordination activities and guidelines related to 
infrastructures used for communications. 
e. IEC WSGF (World Smart Grid Forum) Project Group bringing together leaders and 
technical experts of the global Smart Grid scene for assessment of technical, regulatory 
and market achievements in the Smart Grid domain. 
f. IEC SEGs (Systems Evaluation Groups) for Smart Grids and Smart Cities which are open 
groups used in the first stage of systems development whose role is to engage the community of experts, identify the relevant stakeholders and define the general 
architecture and boundaries of the problem to be addressed regarding Smart Grids and 
Smart Cities. 
2.4  IEC Central Office supports the IEC Kenyan National Committee 
2.4.  In September 2013, the IEC gave a traini ng workshop on its Standardization Strategy, 
processes and tools for the members of the IEC NC (National Committee) of Kenya. The event was hosted by KEBS (Kenya Bureau of Standards) an d organized in cooperation with the Ministry of 
Industrialization and Enterprise. IEC Development Community Business Coordinator gave lectures 
to 50 participants from industry, university and consumer organizations who participated in this two-day training workshop. Comment by the participants was that the workshop served as an eye-opener on standardization strategies and that it highlighted how to increase Kenya’s participation 
in IEC International Standardization activities. As  another result of the workshop, the Kenyan NC 
decided to start using the IEC electronic tools for the national work in its mirror committees. 
3  IEC MENTORING PROGRAMME 
3.1.  In June 2013, the IEC launched its Mentoring Programme for IEC Members and IEC Affiliates. 
The purpose of this programme is to broaden participation at all levels (standards development, management, conformity assessment) by encourag ing well developed National Committees to 
mentor and share experiences with other NCs and Affiliates National Electrotechnical Committees. 
3.2.  This is a voluntary programme to which participants commit themselves for up to two years, 
with a progress report after one year and another at the end of the period. 
3.3.  The Mentoring Programme will help IEC Members and IEC Affiliates at the management and 
technical levels. Mentoring at the management level will focus on the reinforcement of the 
structure and functioning of the NC or NEC. Mentor ing at the technical level is aimed at enhancing 
the participation of experts, focusing on the procedures for commenting on IEC International 
Standards during their development and guidance  for understanding the requirements in these 
standards. 
3.4.  The IEC is pleased to report that two mentoring partnerships began in September 2013 with 
the German NC serving as mentor for the Czech NC , and the Austrian NC serving as mentor for the 
NEC of Rwanda. At the occasion of the IEC General Meeting in New Delhi in October 2013, Austria and Rwanda have been invited to share their experiences during the IEC Affiliate Forum. 
3.5.  With its Mentoring Programme, the IEC is hoping to involve more countries in its 
International Standardization work, particularly developing and newly industrialized countries, thus 
facilitating their implementation of the WTO TBT Agreement. 
4  IEC AFFILIATE COUNTRY PROGRAMME 
4.1.  The IEC Affiliate Country Programme
3 is aimed at developing countries that do not yet have 
the necessary infrastructure and technical expertise to participate in IEC activities as a Member. Participants join the Programme free of charge on invitation by the IEC General Secretary. 
                                               
3 http://www.iec.ch/affiliates  
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  4.1  First mentoring partnershi p between Rwanda and Austria 
4.2.  Shortly after the launch of the IEC Mentorin g Programme for Affiliates in June 2013, Rwanda, 
through its National Electrotechnical Committee, requested to benefit from the IEC Mentoring Programme. The Secretary of the IEC National Committee of Austria replied positively to the 
request and both partners agreed to sign a mentoring agreement in July 2013. The mentoring 
activities began in September 2013 and are expected to  last up to two years. These activities  will 
focus on the reinforcement of the existing NEC, the adoption of IEC International Standards, the 
establishment of mirror committees of the IEC and the participation of Rwanda in  IEC 
Standardization work by commenting on IEC Draft International Standards.  
4.2  IEC-LARC training session for Honduras – June 2013 4.3.  The IEC Regional Centre for Latin America Manager organized a web conference in June 2013 
with the OHN, the national standards body of Honduras, and its NEC stakeholders. It was the 
occasion to introduce the IEC, its structure, its International Standards and to give an in depth presentation of the benefits of the IEC Affiliate Country Programme. 
4.3  IEC-LARC training session for Peru – August 2013 
4.4.  In August 2013, the IEC-LARC Manager met with INDECOPI, the national standards body of 
Peru, and its stakeholders who are also members of the Peruvian NEC to help them further benefit 
from Peru’s IEC Affiliate Plus status. He also addressed the mirror technical committees of the IEC 
and government authorities concerned with counterfeit and low quality imported products. This is also an issue for multinational manufacturers that are working to establish an industry association to support government actions against low quality products. 
4.4  IEC conference and training work shop – Kinshasa, DRC, 2 September 2013 
4.5.  Back to back with the AFSEC (African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission) 3
rd 
General Assembly on 28-29 August 2013 in Nairob i, Kenya, the IEC Affiliate Country Programme 
Executive Secretary made an official visit to DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) in September 
2013 to support the newly established National Electrotechnical Committee and to raise the awareness on IEC International Standards and Co nformity Assessment Systems to the President’s 
Office, the Prime Minister’s Office and several ministries. It was also the opportunity to train OCC 
(Office Congolais de Contrôle) stakeholders. DRC is affiliated with the IEC through OCC which 
carries out both standardization and conformity assessment activities. Their NEC was established in 2012 and this upgraded the DRC to IEC Affiliate Plus status. During the conference that brought 
together 120 participants, the IEC explained that the NEC had a crucial role to play in the 
development policies of the country, by identify ing appropriate standards for adoption, following 
up on those standards that were already adopted and getting involved in commenting on 
documents produced by the selected IEC Technical Committees. The next step for the DRC NEC is 
to establish mirror technical committees of the IEC and to involve all those who have expertise in the electrotechnical field. Some new IEC Technical Committees could be considered to serve the 
national needs for standards such as IEC TC 4 on hydraulic turbines, IEC TC 31 for equipment for 
explosive atmospheres, or IEC TC 86 on fibre opti cs. The IEC also pointed out the work of IEC TC 
82 as relevant to support a decentralized rural electrification programme, and in particular IEC International Standard 62257-9-5 which is now sponsored by the World Bank/IFC (International 
Finance Corporation) through the SE4ALL (Sustainable Energy For All) initiative in partnership with 
IEC. 
4.5  Access to IEC International Standards for adoption 
4.6.  Since our last report, 15 developing countries have received free of charge a total of 388 
copies of IEC International Standards to consider for adoption: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guinea, Peru, Rwanda , Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, 
Tanzania, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. South Sudan jo ined the IEC Affiliate Country Programme in 
April 2013 and ordered its first batch of 11 IEC International Standards related to power capacitors and transformers, high and low voltage fuses and cables, overhead transmission lines as well as high voltage switchgear and controlgear. With its newly established National Electrotechnical 
Committee, Gabon is sending a delegation to the forthcoming 77
th IEC General Meeting in New G/TBT/GEN/159 
 
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  Delhi, India, 21-25 October 2013, and should soon start participating actively in the IEC Affiliate 
Country Programme.  
5  REGIONAL COLLABORATION 5.1  African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission  
5.1.  IEC participated in the AFSEC (African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission) 3
rd 
General Assembly held in Nairobi, Kenya, 28-29 August 2013. The meeting was attended by 62 delegates representing 14 African countries. Sinc e its last General Assembly, AFSEC has gained 4 
new members: DRC, Namibia, Rwanda and Za mbia. SADC (Southern African Development 
Community) joined AFSEC as an Affiliate Memb er via its standardization arm SADCSTAN (SADC 
Cooperation in Standardization). Other Affiliate Members are EAPP (Eastern Africa Power Pool), 
SAPP (Southern African Power Pool), UPDEA (Union of  Producers, Transporters and Distributors of 
Electric Power in Africa), PIESA (Power Institute for East and Southern Africa) and AFREC (African 
Energy Commission). AFSEC members approved the recommendation from IEC mirror committees 
to adopt as pan African electrotechnical standards the IEC International Standards from IEC TC 
13: Electrical energy measurement and control, IEC TC 57: Power systems management and 
associated information exchange, and IEC TC 64: Electrical installations and protection against electric shock. AFSEC Members also decided to add IEC TC 82: Solar photovoltaic energy systems, 
to their list of IEC mirror committees and to establish a conformity assessment committee whose 
members will be appointed at the next General Assembly to be held in DRC in September 2014. A workshop on Smart Grid with African Power Pools and AFSEC mirror committees of the IEC is scheduled in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, in 2014, with the technical support of IEC experts. 
5.2.  Following the General Assembly, AFSEC 
signed the PAQI (Pan African Quality Infrastructure) 
agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday 30 Au gust 2013. The infrastructure is based on the 
International Quality Infrastructure with AFSEC representing the IEC through its National 
Electrotechnical Committees in the field of standardization.  
5.2  Forum of IEC National Committees of the Americas 2013 Meeting – Miami, USA, 
September 2013 
5.3.  The FINCA, the Forum of IEC National Committees of the Americas, 2013 Meeting saw its 
seven country members (Argentina, Brazil, Canada , Chile, Colombia, Mexico and USA) take an 
important decision in inviting the region’s IEC Affiliate countries and Associate Members to participate as observers in future events. For the first time this year, COPANT, the Pan American 
Standards Commission, Executive Secretary, Kory Eguino, was in attendance, and the USA invited 
Sandra Gomez of INTECO, the Costa Rican national standards bureau, as an observer. Also present were three participants from the IEC Young Professionals Programme. 
5.3  7
th A P E C  C o n f e r e n c e  o n  G o o d  R e g u l a t o r y  P r a c t i c e  –  M e d a n ,  I n d o n e s i a ,   
26-27 June 2013 
5.4.  The 7th APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooper ation) conference on Good Regulatory Practice 
brought together more than 100 experts fr om government, business and international 
organizations to discuss the critical regulatory i ssues facing the APEC community. Ann Weeks, UL 
(Underwriters Laboratories) Vice President for Global Affairs and IEC-APRC Regional Director participated in session 8, moderated by former IE C Vice President, Frank Kitzantides, to discuss 
ways to move forward with conformity assessmen t and GRP (Good Regulatory Practice). IEC-APRC 
shared that the IEC Conformity Assessment System s, which use the IEC International Standards, 
are ready made tools that the regulators can depend on and cited that the UNECE (United Nations 
Economic Commission for Europe) has endorsed IECEx (IEC System for the Certification to 
Standards relating to Equipment for use in Explosive Atmospheres) as a "Good Regulatory Practice". 
6  PARTNERSHIP WITH UN FOUNDATION AND WORLD BANK 
6.1.  The IEC, the World Bank Group, and the Un ited Nations Foundation have worked together to 
give developing countries access to important technical documents that support rural electrification (IEC Technical Specification 62257 series) at discounts ranging between 50% and 75%. The G/TBT/GEN/159 
 
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  documents in the series support energy access through a range of technologies for rural 
electrification in developing countries (more information on these documents can be found here). To make these important documents more accessible to key stakeholders, the IEC, the World Bank Group, and the United Nations Foundation collaborated to provide the following discounts to 
qualified stakeholders:  
a. 75% discount on IEC/TS 62257-9-5 with or without its normative references; 
b. 58% discount on entire IEC/TS 62257 series with all normative references; 
c. 50% discount on any other individual documents in the IEC/TS 62257 series (with or 
without normative references). 
7  IEC CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES  7.1  New status in conformity  assessment for IEC Affiliates  
7.1.  After the launch of the IEC Affiliate Plus  status in August 2009, the IEC Affiliate Country 
Programme Secretariat is pleased to report that a new ACAS (Affiliate Conformity Assessment Status) is now offered to Affiliate participants, following a decision from the IEC CAB (Conformity 
Assessment Board) in June 2013. ACAS will offer Affiliate participants new benefits in all IEC CA 
(Conformity Assessment) Systems, IECEE (IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for 
Electrotechnical Equipment and Components), IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System for Electronic 
Components) and IECEx (IEC System for the Certification to Standards relating to Equipment for 
use in Explosive Atmospheres), including any future IEC CA Systems. The objective is to train Affiliate countries to use IEC International Standa rds and benefit from IEC CA Systems through the 
recognition of IEC CA Certificates, whenever possible on the national level. These benefits include: 
a. Regional awareness events; 
b. Documentation and guides on conformity assessment at the IEC; 
c. Webinars (upon request); 
d. Learning modules on IEC website and CD-ROMs (under development); 
e. A resource database (under development); 
f. Active participation in each IEC CA System, based on prerequisite training conditions. 
7.2.  Any Affiliate country that has met the following criteria is entitled to ACAS:
 
a. Officially declared the adoption of IEC International Standards as national standards; 
b. Signed the ACAS Pledge; 
c. Made the commitment to use the ACAS Learning Modules. 
7.3.  Existing IECEE Affiliates have automaticall y been granted ACAS, and have a year to sign the 
pledge document. 
7.2  IECEE new field of activity  
7.4.  The IEC has a number of Technical Committees that prepare International Standards 
connected with specific areas of industrial automation. IEC TC 65: Industrial-process measurement, control and automation, provides many of the standards that are relevant for 
industry. IEC TC 2: Rotating machinery, IEC TC 17: Switchgear and controlgear, IEC TC 22: Power 
electronic systems and equipment, IEC TC 44: Safety of machinery - Electrotechnical aspects, and IEC TC 66: Safety of measuring, control and laboratory equipment, all play important roles in this field. The complexity and sophistication of toda y’s systems and equipment in industrial plants G/TBT/GEN/159 
 
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  require a specific approach to safety and security . To provide an improved response to industry 
and market needs, IECEE offers a new service enti rely dedicated to industrial automation. One of 
the first tasks was to gather into one product cate gory – INDAT – all the existing IEC International 
Standards that have a direct bearing on products used in industrial automation. The introduction of 
the INDAT product category has benefits for industry as well as for IECEE CBs (Certification 
Bodies) and TLs (Test Laboratories). More in IEC e-tech June 2103. 
7.3  IECEE-AFSEC Seminar – Nairobi, Kenya, 26-27 August 2013 
7.5.  As announced in our previous report, IECEE and AFSEC (African Electrotechnical 
Standardization Commission) held a seminar in Nairobi, Kenya, 26-27 August 2013. This seminar, back to back with AFSEC 3
rd General Assembly, brought together over 80 participants from 14 
African countries: four IEC Members (Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa) and ten IEC Affiliate 
countries (Côte D’Ivoire, DRC, Gabon, Ghana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, 
Zambia). The seminar addressed representatives from national standards organizations, utilities, regulatory authorities, universities and technical institutes, ministries, consumer associations, 
telecommunications, manufacturers and SMEs. The seminar included a general presentation of IEC 
Conformity Assessment Systems with an emphasis on IECEE by its Executive Secretary. It was 
followed by specific presentations from IECEE testing and certification experts from Italy and China 
and a lead and technical assessor from France. The case studies dealt with refrigerators, 
luminaires and electronic equipment. The two-day workshop included a site visit to Kenyan laboratories from ABM (Associated Battery Manufacturers EA Ltd), KEBS (Kenya Bureau of Standards) and Power Technics Ltd. The delegates also learnt how to access online certificates 
which are available on the IEC website (see agenda here). The event was organized as a benefit 
from the newly launched ACAS (Affiliate Conformi ty Assessment Status), under the terms of the 
cooperation agreement signed between AFSEC and the IEC in 2009. 
7.4  IECEx-UNECE Workshop – Fortaleza, Brazil, 18 September 2013 
7.6.  As part of the 2013 IECEx series of meetings  held in Brazil, the United Nations, the UNECE 
(United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) WP6 (UNECE Working Party on Regulatory 
Cooperation and Standardization Policies) Ex Sector initiative Regulators Workshop was considered 
a major success with over 100 participants and representatives from various parts of Latin America. 
7.7.  The IEC President, Dr Klaus Wucherer, gave  a Key Note address confirming the IEC’s full 
support concerning standards and conformity assessment activities in this important area and 
advised that it was pleasing to see the UN endorsement of IEC TC 31 International Standards and the IECEx Schemes via publication of the UNECE CROs (Common Regulatory Objectives) 
Publication. The IEC then delivered a series of  presentations on the IECEx sector with other 
speakers from regulatory authorities and the UNECE also making contributions (see agenda here). 
7.5  Forthcoming UNECE-IECEx Conference – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,  
19-20 February 2014 
7.8.  The Malaysian National Committee of the IEC in conjunction with IECEx, UNECE and the 
IEC-APRC (IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre), are planning a two-day International Conference for 19-20 February 2014, covering standards, regulations and conformity assessment in the 
highly specialized field of "Equipment and installations in areas where an explosion or fire 
hazard may exist (Ex areas)". Such areas include those associated with industries such as petrochemical plants, chemical processing and storage facilities, fuel storage and filling stations 
associated with transportation, areas giving rise to combustible dusts including storage and 
handling of grain
, pharmaceutical manufacturing, furniture manufacturing and painting processes 
and many more. The Conference will follow a similar theme to the two-day conference in Dubai, 
UAE, 20-21 March 2012, with technical presentations to assist capacity building with participants 
gaining practical knowledge concerning how area classification is conducted and the subsequent selection and installation of Ex equipment. Issues  concerning maintenance and repair will also be 
included. Being planned as a sponsored event, it is expected that attendance will be free of charge 
with all participants receiving a "Conference Certificate of Attendance". Preliminary inquiries and 
expressions of interests may be directed to info@iecex.com
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  7.6  IECEx awareness workshop –Lubumbashi, DRC, 5-6 September 2013 
7.9.  At the occasion of the country visit to the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) previously 
mentioned in this report, the IEC organized a workshop for the IEC Affiliate stakeholders of the mining province of Katanga. The workshop took place in Lubumbashi, the province capital, and 
brought together some 40 participants coming from various mining industries, universities, 
consumers, the ministry of energy , the provincial branch of the O CC (Office Congolais de Contrôle) 
and laboratories all participating in the newly established provincial branch of the DRC National 
Electrotechnical Committee. The IEC gave a general presentation on its three Conformity 
Assessment Systems and how developing countries can benefit through the IEC Affiliate Country 
Programme. IECEx expert from Sydney gave a pres entation via teleconference. In spite of the 
language barrier and time difference, the discussions were animated and raised many issues 
regarding piracy, counterfeit, education of mi ning personnel, how to access training, lab 
certification, IEC’s role in training university students and future engineers. The workshop was 
closed by the provincial Minister of Energy.  
 
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