Inspired by the objectives of the charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf aiming at achieving coordination, integration and interconnection between them in all areas leading to their unity, and Pursuant to the objectives of the GCC Economic Agreement calling for coordinating and unifying their economic, financial and monetary policies as well as their commercial, industrial and customs regulations in force therein, and Desiring to achieve more coordination and cooperation between them in the standardization areas with a view to unifying their regulations in this respect, and in implementation of the resolution of the GCC Supreme Council (22nd Session, Muscat, Oman, 30-31 December 2001) to establish a Standardization Organization for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GSO) in preference to transforming the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) into a Gulf organization..

The governments of:

The State of the United Arab Emirates

The Kingdom of Bahrain

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Sultanate of Oman

The State of Qatar

The State of Kuwait

Have agreed as follows:

Article (1) : Establishment of the Organization

An organization shall be established under the provisions of these Rules of Procedure within the framework of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf to be named "the Standardization Organization of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GSO)".

Article (2) : Definitions

The following expressions— wherever mentioned throughout these Rules of Procedure— shall have the meanings assigned to them unless the context otherwise requires:

The Cooperation Council: the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)

The Supreme Council : the Supreme Council of the Cooperation Council

The Ministerial Council: the Ministerial Council of the Cooperation Council

The Competent Minister: the Minister to whom the standardization staff in each Member State report

The Organization: the Standardization Organization of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GSO)

The Member States: the Member States of the Organization.

The Board of Directors: the Board of Directors of the Organization.

The Technical Council: the Technical Council of the Organization.

The General- Secretariat : the Secretariat of the Organization.

The Secretary General: the Secretary General of the Organization.

The year: the Gregorian year.

The Gulf Technical Regulation: a document approved by the Board of Directors that lays down the specifications of the products and the relevant processing operations and the production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions to be adhered to. The Regulation may include or examine in particular the terms, definitions, packing and the marking or labeling requirements to be applied to the products, operations or the methods of production.

Gulf Standards: a document approved by the Board of Directors that lays down, for normal and frequent use, the rules and instructions or characteristics of the products, operations or relevant methods of production thereof , the adherence to which shall not be compulsory. This document may include or examine in particular the terms, definitions, packing and the marking or labeling requirements to be applied to the products, operations or the methods of production.

Gulf Conformity Assessment Procedures: a document approved by the Board of Directors that spells out any procedure to be directly or indirectly utilized to ensure that specific requirements of the Technical Regulations or Standards have been satisfied. The Conformity Assessment Procedures include sampling, testing, inspection, evaluation, verification, registration, approval and adoption as well as any procedures common between them.

Article (3) : Headquarter

The headquarter of the Organization shall be based in the city of Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Branch offices of the Organization may be established in any Member State by a resolution of the Board of Directors after obtaining the consent of the State where the branch office is to be established.