Tunisia Signs MOU on Radio Testing and Certification... Africa's First

[Asia Economy Reporter Seolgina Jo] The National Radio Research Agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 13th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tunisian Information and Communication Research Center (CERT) to cooperate in the field of radio testing and certification and to mutually understand each other's systems.

This is the first time that South Korea has signed an MoU in the field of radio testing and certification with an African country. Tunisia, located in North Africa along the Mediterranean coast, requires radio testing and certification for ICT imported products to be conducted in Tunisia, which has caused difficulties for domestic companies in exporting due to processing times taking several months.

According to this MoU, both countries will engage in system sharing, joint research, expert exchanges, and training. It is expected to help increase exports by providing information on testing and evaluation, certification issuance procedures, and current technical regulations to domestic small and medium-sized enterprises aiming to export to Tunisia. Furthermore, if this leads to a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in the future, it will be meaningful as testing and certification can be conducted in South Korea without local visits when exporting to Tunisia.

As of last year, South Korea's ICT product exports to Tunisia amounted to 24.2 billion KRW, with major export items including mobile phones, wireless internet devices, and vehicle ICT products.

Kim Jeong-ryeol, Director of the National Radio Research Agency, stated, “Despite many difficulties in international cooperation due to COVID-19, we were able to achieve the signing of the MoU after continuous consultations via email and international calls with Tunisian officials for seven months starting from January this year.” He added, “Based on this international cooperation with Tunisia, we will strive to support domestic ICT companies’ exports by signing additional MoUs with African countries and expanding Mutual Recognition Agreements with Southeast Asian countries.”