Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie Opens PASC-PAC Joint Annual Meeting in Honolulu

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Honorable Neil Abercrombie, governor of the State of Hawaii, provided inspiring welcome remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the Joint Annual Meeting of the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) on Monday, May 20, 2013. Expressing his recognition of the critical importance of standards and conformance to business and trade growth, Governor Abercrombie addressed 150 delegates from 20 countries throughout the Pacific Rim region in attendance for discussions that will shape the future direction of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies. Hosted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on behalf of the United States, the joint meeting marks the first time PASC and PAC are holding their annual plenaries together in an effort to strengthen their cooperative work.

Displaying a keen understanding of how international standards and related conformance activities serve as key drivers of innovation, economic growth, and increased market access, Governor Abercrombie stressed the importance of getting that message out. He commented on the lack of common knowledge about international standards and conformity assessment, despite their ubiquity and tremendous impact. "Your work is fundamental to the future of the Asia-Pacific region," he said, a region that he believes will write the history of the 21^st century. And in continuing that critical work, the Governor offered, "you can consider Hawaii an ally, partner, and friend."

Governor Abercrombie described the "Aloha spirit" of Hawaii not merely as a marketing slogan, but rather a true reflection of the cooperative and friendly outlook of the islands and people. As one of the most diverse and culturally rich communities, ideally situated as a Pacific Rim hub, Hawaii is the perfect location for cooperative business to advance the economies of the region. "Our diversity defines rather than divides us," stressed the Governor, and he encouraged PASC and PAC members to embrace that spirit in their work, and "come together and unify."

After introducing Governor Abercrombie, James Pauley, chair of the ANSI Board of Directors, followed the Governor's remarks with his own, officially opening the weeklong series of meetings. Pacific Rim standards and conformance leaders then gave presentations and led discussions on topics of broad interest to the standardization community.

PASC is a voluntary organization of Pacific area national standards organizations that serves as a forum for strengthening the region's International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standardization activities, supporting free trade and economic growth, and fostering information exchange and collaboration with other standardization stakeholders. PAC is an association of accreditation bodies working to facilitate trade and commerce in Asia Pacific economies by promoting international acceptance of its members' accreditation activities. The PASC-PAC Joint Annual Meeting includes more than 15 technical and management committee meetings, topical workshops, and PASC and PAC plenary meetings. All events are being held at the Modern Honolulu hotel, 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii. For a full schedule of events and more information, visit http://pasc-pac-2013.com. 

About PASC
The Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) was founded in 1973 to coalesce the contributions of countries within the Pacific Rim on international standardization and strengthen global trade and commerce. PASC works to strengthen international standardization programs and improve the ability of Pacific Rim standards organizations to participate in these programs effectively. The members of PASC have adopted by consensus a number of important resolutions concerning international standardization, the work of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and communication and interrelationships among PASC members. PASC is concerned not only with standards preparation but also with conformance to standards.

About PAC
The Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) is an association of accreditation bodies and other interested parties whose objective is to facilitate trade and commerce among economies in the Asia Pacific region. Its ultimate objective is the creation of a global system that grants international recognition of certification or registration of management systems, products, services, personnel, and other programs of conformity assessment. PAC operates within the framework of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and in cooperation with other regional groups of accreditation bodies around the world. IAF provides the technical basis for the world-wide recognition of the competence of the bodies accredited by its members.

About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private-sector, non-profit membership organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. ANSI membership is made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. As such, the Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), among other international and regional standardization forums.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute