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RIYADH: Products meeting standard specifications in the Saudi market have increased to 82.17 percent, as the Kingdom began an Asian tour to introduce safety and conformity assessment procedures. 

This marks a surge of more than 41 percent in the past eight years, rising from 58 percent in 2016, as the Kingdom persists in running product safety programs as part of Vision 2030, aiming to raise conformity to standard specifications. 

As part of its ongoing tour in China, Japan, and South Korea, the Saudi Product Safety Program, also known as SALEEM, provided these figures, offering insights into conformity assessment procedures and market entry requirements in the Kingdom. 

Led by Saad bin Othman Al-Kasabi, governor of the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization, or SASO, the delegation aims to strengthen ties with manufacturers and exporters in the visited Asian countries.  

The SASO initiative is aligned with Vision 2030 and seeks to increase the proportion of products adhering to standard specifications. 

The tour includes bilateral meetings and workshops tackling challenges for manufacturers and exporters in the visited countries.  

It aims to boost trade, strengthen partnerships, and enhance the national economy by enhancing the competitiveness of the Saudi market. 

This effort aligns with SASO’s goal to share product safety expertise, facilitate global communication with manufacturers and exporters, and raise awareness about standards, regulations, and conformity verification to foster trade and reduce technical barriers. 

According to SASO, China remains the largest trading partner of Arab countries, with the Kingdom contributing 25 percent of this volume as Riyadh and Beijing reached a trade value of $106.1 billion in 2022. 

The Saudi standards regulator has approved 23 Chinese conformity assessment bodies and issued 178 licenses to factories from the Asian country to use the Saudi Quality Mark. Moreover, the Saber electronic platform has registered over 1.4 million Chinese products. 

In 2023, the authority granted three licenses to new operators for periodic technical inspection activities and licensed 45 sites, fostering competitive investment opportunities and enhancing service quality for citizens and residents. 

In a bid to strengthen its technical and scientific foundation, the organization, in collaboration with local universities, last year introduced a course named “Saudi Standards and Specification.”