The 30th Asia-Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF) Meeting took place in November 2023. For the first time in three years, the participants were able to meet in person again. The Philippines were the host country and invited the participants to the island of Panglao in the Province of Bohol. Representatives from more than 20 countries were there to share information, to inform themselves about new developments and to set the course for the future. Anna Kalkuhl and Kira Wolf from PTB’s Asia Section (International Cooperation) as well as the expert Keith Jones attended.
For more than ten years, the PTB project “Metrology-Enabling Developing Economies in Asia” (MEDEA) has been supporting selected countries of the region in the field of metrology. The name is well known within the network: During the week, the project was often referred to and results of joint activities were presented, for example the policy briefs written as part of an online workshop. These are short and concise statements on specific topics or issues. The objective is to inform people outside of the expert community, usually political decision-makers, about the relevance of metrological services and to raise awareness so that this field is taken into account appropriately in political/administrative decision processes. In addition, the e-learning courses developed in-house on the topics of rice moisture, vehicle scales and prepackaged goods were presented.
The MEDEA project will be terminated in the beginning of 2025. For this reason, there is a specific focus on using the remaining resources in the best way possible and to sustainably anchor the project results.
Representatives of the Pacific States of Tonga and Samoa attended this year’s forum meeting as special guests. Mateaki Loloa, Principal Inspectorate Officer of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development of Tonga, expressed gratitute with moving words that her home country, a small Pacific Island, was being heard at this forum. In March 2023, the Pacific Islands united and founded the Pacific Islands Metrology Committee, headed by Edna Kuve from Papua New Guinea. The objective of the forum is to strengthen the close cooperation and the metrological activities of its members. It is intended to grant the Pacific Island States access to recognized calibration services and to ensure that the legal metrology activities meet international best practices. At this year’s meeting, the committee requested to become a member of the APLMF network, but a decision has yet to be made.
The project team is looking back on a rewarding and interesting meeting week and has started the year 2024 with a positive outlook. The purpose of attending the APLMF Meeting was to discuss experiences and past events as well as to make plans for the future. The MEDEA project team and the APLMF Working Groups are now planning the next joint activities. Four in-person meetings are tentatively planned for 2024. The next yearly meeting of the APLMF will take place in Taiwan at the end of 2024.
Images © APLMF
