The Papua New Guinea National Institute of Standards and Industrial Technology (PNG NISIT) has officially signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) Berhad in the field of science and technology on the 29th of February 2024, in Malaysia.
SIRIM President and Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Indera IR Dr. Ahmad Sabirin Arshad said the deal would now strengthen standardisation and enhanced industrial activities in Papua New Guinea with SIRIM providing a range of services such as testing, education and medical assistance.
“This cooperation will inadvertently safeguard Papua New Guinea against unsafe and subpar products, promote measurement and technical standards for commerce and industry in PNG and improve the country’s industrial efficiency,” he said.
Leading team NISIT to Malaysia was Acting Director-General Mr Victor Gabi with Executive Managers Mr Noah Sapak and Mr Benzamine Zairo with other support staff.
The Secretary for Department of Commerce and Industry Mr David Ganai, who attended the ceremony, said this vital deal from abroad will help the country especially in the field of commerce and industry.
Mr Ganai said with NISIT being the implementation arm of the government, this deal would help improve commerce and industry.
The ceremony occurred in the city of Shah Alam, which is where the headquarters of SIRIM is located.
Mr Gabi said “Our country needs to grow the industry because many businesses there do not have a proper sight to do cross-checking and balancing, and we hope the MOU can help to advance the industrial development to a higher level.”
The deal is to promote cooperation between the two parties in areas of:
- Natural Sciences;
- Engineering and Technology;
- Medical and Health Sciences;
- Agricultural Sciences;
- Social Science and Humanities;
- Promoting Technology Transfer and Commercialisation corporation; and,
- Other research areas, as mutually agreed by the Parties.
The partnership will serve as a forum for collaboration between NISIT and SIRIM for joint interest vis-à-vis a strategic alliance to:
- Joint technical setup, research projects and development projects;
- Exchange of researchers, scientists, engineers (“RSEs”) technical experts and consultants participating in execution of joint Parties and for facilitating the exchange of knowledge and information of target groups;
- Organising and participating in scientific meetings such as symposia, seminars, courses, workshops, exhibitions and conferences on topics of mutual interests of the Parties;
- Exchange of metrological, scientific and technical research results, information, documentation, and material arising from the bilateral scientific and technology cooperation;
- Joint use of research and development facilities and scientific equipment;
- Joint publication;
- Promoting technology transfer cooperation;
- Industry standard development, calibration, measurement, conformity assessment and testing facility services to establish quality infrastructure;
- Networking in industry research development, technology transfer and quality infrastructure services; and,
- Other activities as mutually agreed upon in writing by the Parties.
The MOU between NISIT and SIRIM was initially planned for signing in Port Moresby last year but that did not happen due to some challenges faced, hence SIRIM took the initiative to host the event this year.
The relationship between SIRIM and NISIT has been growing strong since 2017. The signing of the MOU officiates and defines well this relationship.
The partnership is for two years and during that time NISIT and SIRIM hope to achieve all goals set in the MOU, if and where possible.
