Accreditations Issued in Georgia Recognized Internationally

Accreditations issued in Georgia have been recognized internationally. The European Accreditation Bilateral Recognition Agreement has been signed at the General Assembly of the European Accreditation (EA) body. According to Mr. Genadi Arveladze, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, the BLA covers the following activities of the Georgian Accreditation Centre: testing and calibration, product certification, certification of personnel and inspection. Examinations and certificates issued in these areas by the accredited bodies are recognized by the EU and member states of the European Accreditation Council.

“I would like to congratulate our country on signing the European Accreditation Bilateral Recognition Agreement. This success is of outmost importance for our country. This recognition empowers Georgia to issue internationally recognized accreditations. It is another successful step towards euro-integration. This is the first success achieved in the field, which will bring international recognition to accreditation certificates issued in the different sectors, laboratories and limited liability companies,” emphasized Mr. Arveladze.

The Deputy Minister noted that the Georgian exporters no longer have to pursue exams or certification procedures abroad.

“Our entrepreneurs will save the money and the time they had to spend before, when there was no internationally recognized certification available in Georgia. The accredited fields are testing and calibration, product certification, certification of personnel and inspection. Following the signing of the Association Agreement in 2014 and the entry into force of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement in September 2014, we submitted the application to join the European Accreditation system. Accordingly, in November 2014, two international missions were held,” continued Mr. Arveladze.

The Deputy Minister noted that Georgia now has 101 accredited officials in exam labs, 7 in calibration laboratories, 6 in product certification bodies, 6 in the personnel certification body, and an inspection body with 79 accredited officials.

The official recognition of Georgia’s accreditations will reduce the technical barriers for Georgian products reaching international markets and will promote growth and competitiveness of products produced in Georgia.