Dubai and Abu Dhabi government and industry leaders
partnered with the ASTM International board of directors to host 20 events
during Outreach Day.
Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the
Federation of UAE Chambers hosted a special event to announce ASTM
International’s 100th memorandum of understanding. The Gulf Standardization
Organization (GSO), in addition to all GCC nations, have joined the program over
the past few years.
“Voluntary and technical standards are all around us, and
they give confidence to people and organizations to go about their daily lives,” U.S. Ambassador to the UAE Barbara Leaf said. “Once people begin to learn about
what standards are and why they are important, it is easy to realize that they
are essential for products and services to be traded with consistency, predictability and reliability.”
Thomas was honored with a framed letter in appreciation of
his dedication and leadership shown up and through his pending retirement. The
letter was signed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and presented by
Leaf and Christian Reed, executive director for the Middle East and Africa at
the U.S. Department of Commerce.
An amusement-ride standards workshop and another event were
offered Oct. 16 to conclude the week’s activities at NYU-Abu Dhabi.
The Standards and Codes for Sustainable Construction
Workshop in Dubai, highlighted by a discussion among government and industry
leaders, was hosted Oct. 13 and sponsored by ASTM International, the
International Code Council, and the U.S. Department of Commerce International
Trade Administration.
As part of “Discover America” month, the U.S. Embassy
supported several of the events during Outreach Day.
