In order to strengthen quality and increase compliance with international standards to increase its export supply, 470 companies in the chemical industry, as well as 126 laboratories and entities such as the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification (ICONTEC), the National Institute of Metrology (INM) And the National Accreditation Agency of Colombia (ONAC) will become part of the global quality and standards plan, and the agreement will come into effect in Bogotá on May 22, 2019.The project will be implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will provide 1.9 million euros in donations, and the Colombian Ministry of Trade will provide 460,000 euros in financial resources.
Colombia’s Productiva’s industry and tourism will support approximately 11% of the country’s chemical companies (5214 micro and small and medium enterprises), which contributed 15.5% to the country’s overall manufacturing value added in 2018.
In total, chemical activities created 205,620 jobs, accounting for 7.6% of the national manufacturing employment.The chemical industry is important because of its high added value per employee (US$218 million in 2017) and its impact on other industries.
The initiative will include interventions to strengthen conformity assessment laboratories and institutions so that their services can meet the needs of the company.Colombian Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism José Manuel Restrepo said: “Colombia has a special production capacity in the chemical industry, which provides more complex products than the average level of our export basket, and also accounts for our non-mining energy.
"Camilo Fernández de Soto, President of Productiva Colombia, said: “More than 400 companies and more than 100 laboratories in the chemical value chain will benefit from skills and training.” “Another 70 companies and 26 laboratories will receive long-term assistance.
"Johannes Dobinger, the representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization for Colombia and the Andean region, added: “The project will aim to narrow the technological gap in high-quality infrastructure and strategic sectors in our partner countries.” “Take Colombia as an example, we will The chemical industry is particularly supported to enable it to export more products because, in addition to its outstanding figures in terms of employment, production and added value, it also poses important challenges to the OECD’s agenda and the country’s development policy.