The Southern African Development Community Secretariat (SADC) convened the Technical Barriers to Trade Cooperation Structures meetings in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa from 23rd to 27th March 2026. The TBT meetings are a platform for SADC Secretariat to monitor implementation of Standardisation, Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Metrology (SQAM) activities in Member States and ensure alignment with regional and international objectives in Standardisation, Quality assurance, Accreditation and Metrology domain.
Ms Alexandra Ambrahams, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition for the Republic of South Africa delivered the keynote address and highlighted that the Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers SADC enterprises unparalleled opportunities to increase regional value chains and access a greater, unified African market. However, she emphasised that such benefits depend on the region’s ability to reduce Technical Barriers to Trade, enhance testing and certification capacity, and ensure that goods meet both continental and global quality requirements.
As Africa advances towards deeper economic integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as products move in, out and through the continent, the importance of harmonised standards and technical regulations and trusted conformity assessment procedures becomes even more urgent, she said.
Mr. Dhunraj Kassee, Director of Industrial Development and Trade at SADC Secretariat outlined that misalignment between national, regional and international policies, limited awareness of decision makers on the importance of quality infrastructure, limited quality infrastructure development and qualified personnel as well as inadequate financial resources contribute to persistent Technical Barriers to Trade in the region.
On the sidelines of the TBT meetings, individuals and companies who entered the 2025/26 edition of SADC Quality Award competition and won were awarded their prizes comprising of trophies and certificates.
The annual TBT meetings were attended by representatives from SADC Member States, working in institutions responsible for trade, Technical Regulations, Legal, Scientific and Industrial Metrology, Standardization, Accreditation, Private sector, International Cooperating Partners.
