Charting the Way Forward: Strengthening Competitiveness Through Quality and Standards

Vienna, 12 December 2025: The eleven countries that make part of the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP), funded by the Government of Switzerland through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), have agreed on a set of concrete actions that will guide future work to strengthen sustainable market access through leveraging quality and standards for competitiveness, and building strong quality infrastructure (QI) systems. These priorities include deepening peer learning, integrating sustainability and digital transformation into national QI, such as through AI-powered smart quality solutions, expanding education and capacity-building partnerships for better jobs, improving communication and visibility, and adapting global tools to local realities. The eleven country coordinators also emphasized advancing digital traceability, reinforcing compliance mechanisms, and fostering a stronger culture of quality - key steps to help producers, institutions, and SMEs meet evolving global requirements and seize new opportunities.

The GQSP’s unique design- combining national interventions with global tools, cross-country synergies, and structured peer learning - continues to be recognized as a distinctive model. As a global programme, it strengthens national quality infrastructure institutions, supports enterprises in meeting international standards, and promotes the creation of a culture for quality by embedding awareness, leadership, and communication across value chains. Complemented by global public goods such as the Quality Infrastructure for Sustainable Development Index (QI4SD) and the Standards Compliance Analytics tool (SCA), the programme enables evidence-based QI development, anticipate emerging market requirements, and accelerate progress toward sustainable and inclusive trade.

These forward-looking actions stem from collective insights consolidated in the newly published GQSP Coordinators’ Retreat report, which captures experiences and innovations shared during the 2025 gathering in Vienna. The publication highlights lessons from technical discussions on transforming QI systems, strengthening compliance, embedding quality culture, generating positive spillovers, and exploring advanced laboratory practices. Described by participants as an energizing “GQSP University,” the retreat reinforced the programme’s identity as a global learning community. The report is now available on the Knowledge Hub to support continued collaboration and ensure that the momentum generated in Vienna translates into tangible progress for quality, standards, and sustainable development worldwide.

For more information please contact: Dorina Nati (d.nati [at] unido.org)