Sweden ready to assist Algerian companies

The Swedish government is ready to assist athe Algerian companies in the ISO 26000 certification relative to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) declared Thursday in Algiers Gustav Ahlsson,Deputy State Secretary Cabinet of the Minister for Trade, Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sweden proposes the conclusion of Memorandum of Understanding which will identify and define the modalities of his aid with Algeria, Ahlsson said during a meeting on CSR. Two countries have concluded such a memorandum with Sweden. A total of 45 countries, several among which are from Mena region like Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt have already signed the CSR-related UN Global Compact Initiative, dubbed "a modal in terms of application of CSR standards," Ahlssonsaid, while wishing that the Algerian government adheres to this approach. Respect of environment, human rights and workers rights are the main aspects to target, he said. Greater involvement of Algerian companies would allow «better identifying the demands of customs and also minimizing risks related to their activities." Furthermore, the Algeria side expressed willingness to promote CSR principles within all the companies in activity, according to director of industrial competitiveness at Ministry of Industry, SMEs and Investments Promotion Rachid Meksen. The national program of SMEs upgrading includes several aspects like CSR principles, notably environment and workers rights. Some 350 Algerian companies are certified with the different standards ISO.