Recap Day 1

Opening ceremony

United for global impact
The ISO Annual Meeting 2025 opened in Kigali with energy and purpose, marking a historic first for East Africa. Setting the tone for the week ahead, Hon. Prudence Sebahizi, Minister of Trade & Industry of the Republic of Rwanda, urged the global standards community to act boldly and collaborate in tackling the challenges of a rapidly changing world. His call was echoed by ISO President Dr Sung Hwan Cho and ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica, who spoke about the transformative role of standards in building a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive future.

The ceremony reached a high point with closing remarks from Rwanda’s Prime Minister Dr Justin Nsengiyumva, who highlighted the power of international unity to deliver real impact. A vibrant performance by young dancers from the Sherrie Silver Foundation brought the event to a dynamic close, with a celebration of creativity and collaboration that captured the spirit of a week dedicated to bold ideas and global solutions.

The theme of this year’s gathering, “United for impact”, resonates strongly with Rwanda’s own journey. By uniting our efforts, we have turned challenges into opportunities and built a foundation for growth, resilience and prosperity.

Building capacity, driving impact

The week kicked off with the DEVCO Plenary, the annual gathering of ISO’s Committee on developing country matters, and a driving force behind a more inclusive global standards system. A key focus this year was the development of the new Action Plan 2026–2030, which sets out the roadmap to strengthen the role of developing countries in shaping International Standards. Dovetailing closely with the ISO Strategy 2030, it charts a shared course for the decade ahead – one that puts inclusion, collaboration and global representation at the heart of standardization.

This Action Plan complements the ISO Strategy 2030, recognizing that strong national standards bodies are essential to ISO’s success.

The momentum didn’t stop there. A DEVCO workshop provided an opportunity for members to discuss their capacity-building needs and take ownership of the programmes to be deployed to address them.

Making trade work

Trade isn’t just about deals on paper – it’s about making them work in the real world. This high-level session explored how standards, smart policy and trusted systems turn agreements into real market access. From harmonized tariffs to digital frameworks, speakers unpacked the tools that make global commerce flow and deliver real impact.

The session opened with a recorded message from Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), setting the stage for an insightful discussion on how trade can become a driver of inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Speakers explored practical ways to:

• Integrate African economies more deeply into global value chains and expand their role in international supply networks
• Harness quality infrastructure and International Standards to boost competitiveness, foster innovation and support sustainable growth
• Overcome trade barriers and geopolitical challenges to ensure trade drives inclusive and resilient development

One reason to be optimistic is that now Africa is operating on the basis of a single market, leveraging data from markets and the burgeoning power of its population.