Assistant Undersecretary for the Standards and Regulations Sector at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology

Her Excellency Dr. Farah Al Zarooni is Assistant Undersecretary for the Standards and Regulations Sector at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology. She brings to the position more than 25 years of experience and technical expertise,

contributing to developing the UAE’s quality infrastructure, enhancing the competitiveness of national industries, and creating an attractive environment for investment, as well as ensuring the adoption of international best practices for trade facilitation.

HE Al Zarooni’s in-depth knowledge of integrated quality and conformity assessment systems, including developing standards and technical regulations, has played an integral role in supporting the legislative framework for safety and quality across the UAE’s industrial, economic, environmental, and health sectors. Her approach to risk assessment studies has proved instrumental to measuring the impact of implementing newly introduced legislative and technical procedures. Forming partnerships with regional and international organizations to strengthen quality and conformity systems, HE has further aligned the sector with the UAE’s strategy for intra-industry trade to support the national economy.

Her Excellency held several positions on the national level, including:

• Assistant Undersecretary for the Standards and Regulations Sector – Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (Present)
• Director of the Technical (Legislation) Regulations Department – Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology
• Standards Consultant – Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology
• Consultant and Deputy Secretary-General – International Halal Accreditation Forum
• Director of the National Accreditation Department – Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology
• Head of the Consumer Products Laboratory Department – Dubai Municipality
• Al Zarooni held numerous positions regionally and globally, including:UAE representative on the Board of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 2020-2022.
• – Member of the Board of Directors at the Emirates International Accreditation Center (2021-present).
• Member of the Board of Directors at the GCC Accreditation Center (GAC) (2021-present)
• Member of the UAE CEPA Negotiating Team – leading Economy and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

HE is also the UAE representative in regional and global Standards and Regulations organizations including:

• Codex Alimentarius Commission
• The International Electrotechnical Organization (IEC)
• Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), affiliated to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
• Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization
• GCC Standardization Organization

HE Al Zarooni holds a PhD in Governance, focusing on challenges facing UAE stakeholders in implementing regulations and legislation, from the College of Social Sciences and Law at University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland.