March 17 marked the first anniversary of the formation of the Quality Managers Club, a growing group of Uzbek quality professionals. The group was formed by TUV Academy and several consulting companies in Uzbekistan, which realized Uzbekistan’s potential to make headway in international business by becoming a destination for offshoring. In addition, Uzbekistan is one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton and a major producer of gold. It also has substantial deposits of copper, minerals, natural gas and oil.

The implementation of international standards hasn’t been widespread in this central-Asian country. The formation of the Quality Manager’s Club is an indication of the country’s new interest in quality principles. Currently, about 60 of Uzbekistan’s leading companies have implemented International Organization for Standardization standards, and eight consulting companies that specialize in quality and standardization operate there.

March’s anniversary meeting of the Quality Managers Club was held at the International Business Centre and focused on the role and responsibilities of managers in ISO 9001 compliance. In addition, the Best Manager of 2005 award was presented.

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