Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt

The international activities of the PTB in the area of Technical Cooperation (this is the official name of development aid projects in the field of metrology) are varied and versatile. They all have the same objective: to assist the developing and threshold countries in setting up a sound MSTQ system. This acronym stands for measurement, standardization, testing and quality assurance, the four columns of metrology. They are so to say the solid foundation on which an industrialized state rests – from the metrological point of view. And most project partners of the PTB are states which are already on their way to industrialization.

The map shows in which countries the PTB is at present implementing projects (in over 20 countries of Asia, Africa and Europe). For years China and in the last few years the states of the former Council for Mutual Economic Aid have played an important role. To assist the Central and East European states in setting up a sound market economy, the PTB lends its support for establishing and reorganizing metrological infrastructures. The commissioning party is mainly the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which in 2000 financed more than 30 projects in which the PTB was involved, and the European Union, die World Bank and other organizations.

Are you interested in a joint project with the PTB? Then you will have to abide by a certain schedule. Every project consists of many individual elements which are combined according to the local situation. A good possibility of success can be predicted for projects which are in accord with the German development policy: combatting poverty, assuring the bases of life and protecting the environment – but also the extension of the economic relations in which the Federal Republic as an export-oriented country is most interested.