The South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) is a regional standards body that coordinates standardization and conformity assessment across South Asia. Its members are the national standards bodies of all South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries: the Afghanistan National Standards Authority (ASQA), Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Bhutan Standards Bureau (BSB), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Ministry of Economic Development (Maldives), Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM), Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), and Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI). Through these members, SARSO provides a regional platform for cooperation on standards and conformity assessment, supporting trade facilitation and market access.

Within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a regional intergovernmental organization, SARSO functions as the technical body responsible for regional standardization and conformity assessment matters. Its role is to complement national standardization systems while offering a common framework for aligning standards, conformity assessment procedures, and related policies in areas of shared economic and technical interest.

SARSO was formally established in 2011 following the ratification of the Agreement on the Establishment of the South Asian Regional Standards Organization by all SAARC member states. It operates as a specialized body of SAARC with full legal personality and is mandated to develop and promote harmonized regional standards. Headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, SARSO commenced its operational activities in April 2014 and works through consensus-based decision-making in close cooperation with its member bodies.

At the international level, SARSO maintains structured cooperation with major global and regional standardization organizations to ensure alignment with recognized international practices. It has concluded cooperation agreements with the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission, and the European Committee for Standardization together with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. These arrangements support information exchange, coordinated technical activities, participation in international standardization work, and the promotion and adoption of international standards within South Asia, while enabling SARSO to represent the collective interests of its member states in global standardization forums.

SARSO is responsible for the development and maintenance of SAARC Standards, which constitute a formal category of regional standards adopted or developed by consensus among member states. It acts as the custodian of these standards and provides the framework for their implementation at national level, supporting harmonization while allowing for legitimate regulatory differences where necessary.

In addition to standards development, SARSO has a formal mandate in regional conformity assessment. It provides the institutional framework for SAARC agreements on the implementation of regional standards and on the mutual recognition of conformity assessment results, supporting harmonized approaches to certification, testing, and inspection across member states. Through these arrangements, SARSO facilitates regional cooperation among designated conformity assessment bodies, promotes mutual confidence in assessment outcomes, and supports capacity building in conformity assessment systems across South Asia.

Further information about the South Asian Regional Standards Organization, its mandate, agreements, standards, and governance structure is available on its official website.