Past Events


European Standardization Systems (ESS) Workshop
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1st June 2025

AFSEC, the African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission, with the support of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy (MOERE) of Egypt, is hosting a full-day ESS workshop titled: “Standards in Action: A collaborative exchange between European and African Standards Organizations”.

This Workshop, under the frame of InDiCo-Global project, is funded by the European Commission and facilitated by the three European Standardization Organizations, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. It aims at strengthening bridges and foster capacity building with partner countries in Digital cooperative processes for the development of global ICT standards, and to enhance cooperation and alignment of digital standards, policies and regulations in view of sustainable trade development.

The event will also involve industry with the presentation by Cyshield, one of the leading companies in Egypt for Cybersecurity and Digital Transformation Solutions, focusing on their experiences and success stories. This workshop aims to showcase initiatives for European-African cooperation and enhance the co-creation and adoption of international standards.

Participants in the Workshop: African National Electro Technical Committees (NECs), in addition to stakeholders from the host country, Egypt: Government representatives, Ministry of Communications and IT, Ministry of Electricity & Renewable Energy (inc. EEHC, EETC, NREA, Egypt ERA), industry associations (EOS), etc.


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21– 25 October 2024

The IEC General Meeting uniquely combines management and technical meetings. Stakeholders from around the world come together to decide on current issues, as well as future directions and strategies for the IEC.

IEC 88th GA focus on:

  • a. Exploring the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence.
  • b. Exploring how standards support our journey to Net Zero.
  • c. Exploring how Quantum technology can be deployed for good.

AFSEC has participated in the 88th IEC GM especially in the Affiliate Forum and Round Table, and as speaker in the IEC Community Symposium, to discuss the benefits of international standards and conformity assessment for developing countries, as well as the standardization opportunities and challenges facing Renewable Energy in African Countries.

According to the Statement of Cooperation Agreement signed in 2022, the IEC and AFSEC have agreed to cooperate in a number of areas, covering especially cross representation and exchange of technical information in the fields of standardization and the development of electrotechnology. The action plan for this agreement-includes capacity building in the field of AI, PV application in Africa, Cyber security and Green Hydrogen, digital transformation, E-Mobility and RE Projects Integration with the Grid.

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9-10 November 2024

During the 15th Committee of Ministers' Meeting that took place from 9-10 November 2024, in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, an MOU was signed between AFSEC and AfCFTA Secretariat.

The purpose of this MoU is to provide a framework of cooperation to strengthen intra-Africa trade through electro-technical standardization, in the fields of electricity, electronics and related technologies to facilitate electro-technical industrialisation of Africa .

The areas of cooperation includes fostering the harmonization of electrotechnical standards for equipment and materials, as well as conformity assessment test requirements within Africa.

AFSEC as member of Subcommittee for the Implementation Annex 6 (TBT) of the protocol of trade and goods of the AfCFTA agreement submitted their activities covering both “Standardization and Conformity Assessment”.

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4-5 September 2024

AFSEC 9th General Assembly Meeting will take place in Kigali – Rwanda on 4-5 September 2024, Many important topics are expected to be approved: the Adoption of 4 New Guides, the Adoption of 98 Standards recommended by ASMC. The approval of Burkina Faso to join AFSEC as Statutory Member, the establishment of two new AFSEC Technical Committees E-Mobility and Green Hydrogen, a new edition of AFSEC Statute, Strategic Plan 2025-2029,

An Awareness Session will also take place on the 3rd of September to promote some AFSEC published guides in 2024


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24th January 2024

Within the Theme of the 87th IEC General Meeting “IEC in Africa and Africa in IEC”, AFSEC had the pleasure to receive Mr. Philip Metzger IEC Secretary General & CEO and Mr. Francois Ahoti IEC AFRC Director. This visit took place on 24th January at AFSEC Premises in Cairo, Egypt, with the virtual presence of AFSEC President, Mr. Bernard Modey.

Topics has been discussed to strengthen the cooperation with IEC within the framework of the cooperation and agreement signed in 2022 as well as other topics specially the ways of cooperation in Artificial Intelligence , Lithium to Battery Technology and the formation of New AFSEC Committees in Green Hydrogen and E Mobility

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21-22 November 2023,Cairo- Egypt

The AFSEC Young Professionals YP program was approved by AFSEC Council to provide the opportunity for recent graduates and early to mid-career professionals in the electrotechnical industry to learn more about standardization and quality assurance, develop their skills, connect with other professionals, and grow their careers,which can help building their leadership skills and enhance their professional profile.

AFSEC YP Program objectives

  1. To encourage young professionals to participate in AFSEC activities and standardization work
  2. To encourage women to participate in AFSEC activities and standardization work
  3. To advocate for the inclusion of standards education in university and/or college curricula especially for engineering students.

The First Face to Face Meeting was held on 21-22 November in Cairo, Egypt where 9 YPs nominated by 8 NECs actively participated and the main Outcomes of this Meeting

  1. Election of Chair and Secretary of the Young Professionals Management Committee
  2. A Work Plan for the year 2024 including activities to enhance the Role of Standards in Improving African Trade and How to strengthen NECs Activities.
  3. A site visit to New and Renewable Energy Authority Testing Facilities ( Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics and Energy Efficiency )

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THE INTRA-AFRICAN TRADE FAIR (IATF2023)

The Intra-African Trade Fair IATF was held from November 9-15, 2023, in Cairo, Egypt, The fair attracted over 1,600 exhibitors from 55 African countries, as well as over 35,000 visitors, buyers, and conference delegates. The fair resulted in over US$43 billion in trade and investment deals.

The IATF is a major success and helps to promote intra-African trade and investment. The fair highlighted the importance of quality infrastructure in supporting the AfCFTA.

PAQI Institutions participated in the IATF 2023 over five days, with activities including training sessions on Codex and ISO standards and panel discussions on AfCFTA implementation.

AFSEC as one of the PAQI Institutions participated in this important event with specific activities focusing on the role of standardization and Conformity Assessment in promoting African Trade

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2nd -4th November 2023, Johannesburg- South Africa

During the 20th African Growth and Opportunity ACT (AGOA ) that was held in South Africa, from 2nd -4th November 2023, Mr. Bernard Modey, President of AFSEC, participated in the side event entitled "Standards and Quality Assurance in Support of Intra-Africa Trade and Trade with the United States of America." This event, aimed to explore the role of standards and conformity assessment procedures in facilitating trade within Africa and with the United States, particularly in the context of greening the economy. The discussion encompassed the current standards development frameworks, committee structures, portfolio of standards, and best practices from various organizations including ARSO, AFSEC, ISO, IEC, and ANSI.

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20th -23rd October 2023,Cairo- Egypt

AFSEC Technical Committee77 (ATC 77) Meeting was held in Cairo - Egypt , from 20th -23rd October 2023 sponsored by PTB.

The meeting focused on finalizing the AFSEC Guide on Electromagnetic Field EMF Protection, which includes measures & strategies to minimize EMF exposure and impact on humans, and also presented some outcomes of experiments and research outputs on EMF conducted by AFSEC TC77 Members.

A Hybrid Seminar was conducted back to back to the Meeting where participants from several local Electricity Companies and the New and Renewable Energy Authority discussed Current Trends in Electromagnetic Compatibility with 4th Industrial Revolution 4IR.

At the end of the Meeting ,A visit to the Electromagnetic Measures Laboratory (PMC) located outside Cairo helped ATC77 members to get acquainted with the up-to-date realities of the implementation of EMC standard for home appliances and smart meters. Relevant test results to support the guide,were collected of the end of the visit.

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23rd PAQI Joint Committee

The 23rd PAQI (Pan African Quality Infrastructure) Meeting was held on 9-12 October 2023 at AUC Premises in Addis Ababa, with the participation of AFSEC as one of PAQI pillars The meeting focused on a number of topics including Africa Quality Policy Council (AQPC) Activities, The AQP Action Plan and Implementation Plan, as well as Alignment of the National Quality Policies (NQPs) with the AQP, African Continental Technical Regulation Framework (ACTReF) , Made in Africa Guidelines finalization and implementation to Trade (TBT) Stocktaking Document 2023 . This meeting focused as well as on strengthening Africa's quality infrastructure and supporting the successful implementation of the AfCFTA.

In the sidelines of the meeting the PAQI celebrated its 10th year of establishment at the same venue AUC Premise with the Theme of the Year (2023) to be “Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation”.

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4th Ordinary Session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental, Interregional Infrastructure, and Energy

The 4th Ordinary Session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental, Interregional Infrastructure, and Energy (STC TTIIE) was held in Zanzibar - Tanzania from September 12th -15th , 2023, on the consideration of a recommendation to formally drop Tourism from the STC and change its name, the consideration of amended Rules of Procedure, PIDA Service Delivery Mechanisms, PIDA 10 Year Progress Report, PPPs to Catalyse Infrastructure Development and Innovative Financing for Industrialisation in Africa, and the Africa Climate Resilient Investment Facility (AFRI-RES).

AFSEC was invited to attend the Experts Meeting & Ministerial meeting and participated in the Thematic Parallel Session of Energy, where AFSEC called for the fast tracking of efforts to operationalize AFSEC as a subsidiary of AFREC.

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Visit to African Union Commission, Addis Ababa – April 2023

Meeting with the African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry &Minerals AND Meeting with Infrastructure & Energy Department Director

The PAQI Joint Committee (JC), has requested a meeting with the African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry & Minerals to strategise on the effective implementation of the recently adopted Africa Quality Policy (AQP) through continental projects on Quality Infrastructure. The Agenda of the Meeting included the status of the African Continental Technical Regulatory Framework (ACTReF) being developed in accordance with the AQP, the concept of Made in Africa MiA for promoting African products.

The status of the Cassava Value Chain (VC) Project was discussed as well as the celebration of 10th PAQI anniversary and the AfCFTA business forum.

Another Meeting took place at AUC between AFSEC President and Executive Secretary with the Director of Infrastructure & Energy Department at AUC to discuss the efforts that should be pursued to get a clear Legal framework, hosting agreement and a regular Budget at the AUC.

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Visit IMANOR & AIDSMO Rabat - March 2023

In order to encourage countries in the Northern Africa Region to join AFSEC, A visit to Morocco took place by AFSEC Executive Secretary and Northern Africa Regional Representative from 15-17 March 2023.

Both Meetings with the General Manager of the Moroccan Institute for Standardization IMANOR and the General Director of the Arab Organization for Industrial Development, Standardization & Mining in League of Arab States “AIDSMO” focused on the current and future activities of AFSEC, AFSEC adopted Standards & Guides and the International cooperation with Stakeholders, encouraging NEC Morocco to join AFSEC as Statutory Member and for both Institutions to participate in AFSEC activities.

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22nd PAQI JC Meeting, Johannesburg - February 2023

In this Meeting, the following topics have been discussed:

  • Cassava Value Chain Project Phase 2.
  • The Africa Quality Policy (AQP).
  • Alignment of the National Quality Policies (NQPs)to the Africa Quality Policy (AQP).
  • Cooperation with the AfCFTA.
  • Made in Africa Guidelines.
  • Cooperation of Conformity Assessment Bodies.

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1stAPUA Scientific Committee Meeting, Cairo- December 2022

The First meeting of the APUA/AFSEC Study Committee SC5 took place in Cairo 4-8 December 2022. SC5 was formed with members from AFSEC and Stakeholders by APUA where SC5 WorkPlan 2022-2025 was approved covering 3 years Road map for developing Standards as well as developing the Interconnection Guide” and “Smart Metering Standard”

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MOU with EgyptERA, Cairo - Egypt, November 2022

MOU between the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and AFSEC president was signed on 28th of November 2022.
The main Objectives of this MOU is to:

  • Promote exchanging experience between the two parties;
  • Promote Standards Development of Electrotechnical Equipment and Systems
  • Support activities regarding conducting Webinars/Training
  • Facilitate strengthening the Cooperation with Relevant Regulatory Institutions in Africa (i.e. Energy Regulators

Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, Regional Association of Energy Regulators in Eastern and Southern Africa, African Forum of Facility Regulators (AFUR)… etc.

  • Engage EgyptERA Experts in AFSEC Standardization Process towards harmonization of standards

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86th IEC General Meeting ,San Francisco 31 October – 4 November 2022

Signed Memorandum of Understanding –MOUs: During the 86th IEC General Meeting that took place from 31st October- 4th November in San Francisco USA, Two Agreements have been signed between AFSEC and IEC:

  1. Regional Adoption Agreement
  2. Statement of Cooperation

The IEC and AFSEC have agreed to cooperate in a number of areas, covering especially cross representation and exchange of technical information in the fields of standardization and the development of electrotechnology.
The objectives of the cooperation between IEC and AFSEC are:

  1. To promote communication between AFSEC and the IEC;
  2. To promote the use of IEC International Standards and of IEC conformity assessment services in Africa in response to market demands in order to facilitate world trade;
  3. To ensure transparency of the IEC International Standards process ;
  4. To accelerate the AFSEC standardization process in order to meet the various demands of the market;
  5. To optimize available resources in IEC and AFSEC standardization activities;
  6. To increase the involvement of African experts and leaders in the various committees of the IEC; and,
  7. To inform IEC National Committees and IEC Affiliates that are also AFSEC members about related activities.

In addition to the Election of Two Technical Committee Chairs ATC13 & ATC82.

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AFSEC 8th General Assembly Meeting ,Accra – Ghana 26-27 July 2022

AFSEC 8th General Assembly Meeting took place in Accra – Ghana on 26-27 July 2022, on a Hybrid mode, first one since out breakoff the Covid 19 Pandemic Many important resolutions were approved: the Adoption of 2 New Guides, the Adoption of 72 Standards recommended by ASMC. The Council approved for Malawi to join AFSEC as Statutory Member, and for The Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) & The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA) to join AFSEC as Affiliate Members.

Other important resolutions were approved: the retention of the two Vice Presidents for a second term 2023-2026 as well as the Executive Secretary and the Treasurer, as well as the retention of Bernard Modey as President of AFSEC for a fifth year.

In addition to the Election of Two Technical Committee Chairs ATC13 & ATC82.

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85th IEC General Meeting ,Dubai -UAE 2-7 October 2021

During the IEC General Meeting held Dubai, two Bilateral Meetings with both IEC, NEC UAE were held identifying number of areas of cooperation and potential activities.

During the Meeting ,the Workshop for Industrializing Countries (WIC) was held ,while the IEC Affiliate Forum celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Affiliate Country Program .

The Main Objective of the Forum was “How to establish NEC and attract Power Utilities and Regulators in NEC Work”,

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AFSEC 7th General Assembly Meeting

Both AFSEC 7th General Assembly Meeting on 19-20 November 2020, and the 10th AMC Meeting on 18 November 2020,were virtually held because of Covid 19 Pandemic. In addition to the Election of Six Regional Representatives (2021-2023) , some Technical Committee Chairs (2021– 2023) and one Conformity Assessment Member (2021– 2026) , other important resolutions were approved, notably the Communication/Marketing Strategy, the Adoption of 3 Guides (one of them was already published in 2018) , the adoption of 35 recommended standards ,the upgrading of AFSEC Website and the selection of AFSEC financial Auditor for the term 2020 to 2022

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IEEE Visit to AFSEC HQ

A Memorandum of Understanding MoU was signed with IEEE-SA in November 2019 after a number of meetings which took place with IEEE- SA representatives in 2018 and 2019, to discuss the different areas of cooperation which afterwards was included in the MoU.

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83rd IEC General Meeting

During the IEC General Meeting held in Shanghai, Bilateral Meetings with IEC, CENELEC , DKE were held identifying number of areas of cooperation and potential activities. In addition to the Meeting of IEC Affiliate Members

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AFSEC Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting

The NEC of Egypt hosted both the Extra Ordinary General Assembly Meeting, and the 9th Management Committee Meeting in Cairo 24-25 July 2019. In addition to the Election of the New President (2020-2023), the Treasurer and some Technical Committee Chairs (2020– 2022) , other important resolutions were approved, notably the approval of the revised Strategic Plan covering the term 2019 -2024 and the approval of 33 IEC Standards newly recommended for common adoption. the Young Professional Program and criteria of selection was approved as well.

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PTB Visit to AFSEC HQ

PTB Representative visited AFSEC HQ in 8 July 2019

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82nd IEC General Meeting

The IEC General Meeting brings together international stakeholders for discussion of current issues and future directions and strategies for the IEC. The IEC Affiliate Country Program allows developing and newly industrializing countries to participate in IEC work and the IEC Conformity Assessment Systems without the financial burden of membership. The IEC Affiliate Forum take place back to back to the IEC GM. AFSEC is usually invited to participate to this Forum in addition to the General Meeting

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International Symposium Development Of Electricity Infrastructures

Organized by Cigré National Committee of South Africa in cooperation with Cigré Technical committee as well as IEC Technical Committees 8/SC8A, 82 115, 120, and 122 And AFSEC Technical Committees 8, 82


AFSEC IECEx International Seminar

Following on the success of earlier similar seminars, this seminar will be another opportunity for experts, senior staff and professionals from the electrotechnical sectors of the African continent, including stakeholders, regulators and policy-makers, to discover and familiarize themselves with the IEC Conformity Assessment System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx System).

The AFSEC– IECEx event will take place in: the ENGINEERS CENTRE( the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Accra) Further details of the programme are given under ‘events’ ; space is strictly limited and you are therefore advised to register as soon as possible To apply to register for the seminar email info@afsec-africa.org, with your full name, indicating if you would prefer to attend the French or English language seminar. Full details of accommodation options, an invitation letter and all other information required will be provided to you on receipt of your email.


2ndAFRICA Smart Grid Forum

PIESA Conference

“Power Distribution Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa” will be the vehicle to showcase our case studies in the format of panel discussions where members will highlight the burning issues faced by the utilities, with the affiliate members available to contribute to the discussions and create opportunities for addressing these challenges.

The idea is to use the conference as a platform where members can share experiences on specific issues that constitute challenges or opportunities in the industry.

This forum will serve as an interactive platform for PIESA members, other African electricity utilities and agencies responsible for electrification, international experts, funding agencies and invited guests to discuss technical issues; primarily focusing on using appropriate technologies for accelerating and improving access to electricity in the region.

We would like to offer your organization the opportunity to bring your product and services to the attention of the PIESA Members as well as all other participating guests. This can be achieved by your organization sponsoring items for which we require financial assistance.

Effective coverage will be given to the sponsoring organizations, including acknowledgment for their contribution in the Forum programme and record of proceedings.

If your company should be interested in sponsoring any of the available opportunities, please contact Charlene at PIESA (011) 061 5000 or email: charlene@vdw.co.za

Your valued support will help us to make the conference an unforgettable success!

Power Institute for East and Southern Africa (PIESA)