Armenia’s government on September 24 approved a resolution adopting the state standardization program and the list of standardization works for 2026. The plan calls for updating existing standards in various sectors of the economy, drafting new national standards in line with international and regional norms, and continuing the country’s participation in international and regional standardization processes.
Speaking at the meeting, Armenian Economy Minister Gevork Papoyan said the work stems from the requirements of the Law on Standardization and the program for the development of the standards and accreditation system. He said the document is important not only for the economy but for other areas as well.
Under Articles 2, 9 and 19 of the Law on Standardization, the annual state program is prepared on the basis of proposals from government agencies, approved by cabinet decision and financed by the state. Within that framework, Armenia carries out the development and revision of national standards, cooperates through European platforms and within the Eurasian Economic Union, and maintains the national standards fund and related information services.
The 2026 program provides for drafting national standards in the areas of management systems, environmental protection and geospatial data in accordance with international standards. It also includes further international and interstate standardization work and the maintenance and information servicing of the national standards fund.
In the field of management systems, Armenia plans to develop requirements for bodies that conduct audits and certification of food safety management systems. The program also covers national standards related to the assessment and certification of products, processes and services, in line with international standards ISO 22003-1 and ISO 22003-2.
In environmental protection, the government plans to develop a national standard setting out a method for determining perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water in accordance with ISO 21675. The work is also considered important because testing for these substances has been included in the list of indicators subject to mandatory examination under new sanitary rules and standards for drinking water that will take effect on January 1, 2027.
For geospatial data, the program calls for national standards on geographic information for temporal schemas, cartographic methodology and the coding of spatial objects, in line with ISO 19108, ISO 19110 and ISO 19118, respectively. According to the rationale, these standards should help build the legal and regulatory framework needed for the development of the spatial data sector in the Republic of Armenia and support the provisions set by the Armenian government’s decision of November 6, 2025.
The plan also provides for continued participation by the Republic of Armenia in international, European and Eurasian standardization processes, expert assessment and electronic voting on draft international and interstate standards, and cooperation with relevant international and regional standardization bodies.
A separate part of the program deals with the National Standards Fund. The government plans to expand, register, maintain and modernize the fund, register adopted national standards, create and maintain an electronic database of the full texts of effective standards, and provide information services to government agencies, organizations and other interested parties in the republic.
