The Minister of Commerce Industry and Tourism, Mr Antonis Paschalides and the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Zeta Emilianidou as well as  representatives of conformity assessment bodies, competent authorities, employers, scientific and consumer associations attended the event which focused on the message of the Day: “Supporting the work of the regulators”. This was a central point in both the welcome address by the Chairman Mr Stelios Colocassides and the brief presentation by the Director Dr Kyriacos Tsimillis on recent developments in accreditation. Representatives of some of the main stakeholders namely the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Employers and Industrialists as well as CyprusLab and the Association of Medical Laboratories took the floor and expressed their interest in contributing further to the promotion of accreditation in Cyprus. To this end the importance of accreditation and the role of CYS-CYSAB in supporting the work of the regulators was underlined.

 All speakers referred to the new needs that arose after the Regulation (EC) no 765/2008 came into force.  The Chairman and the Director underlined the importance of a successful step made by CYS-CYSAB in May after the peer evaluation by EA. It is expected that CYS-CYSAB will soon join the Multilateral Agreement with EA. This development represents a big challenge for the Organization with increasing needs and perspectives.

 In his address to the gathering, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism confirmed the commitment of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus to provide the CYS-CYSAB with all necessary means to ensure that it will be able to meet the needs of the society.

 The programme of the event concluded with the presentation of accreditation certificates to recently accredited laboratories. The representatives of the laboratories were given the floor to make short presentations of their experience in working towards accreditation.   

 The number of attendees and the wide spectrum of their affiliations illustrated the interest of all stakeholders in joining their efforts towards a common task, namely the promotion of Quality through Accreditation.