One of the important tasks of COOMET, geared towards the implementation of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement CIPM MRA, is peer review of the quality management systems of COOMET NMIs/DIs. Effective operation of QMS in the institutes of COOMET member countries is (along with comparisons of measurement standards) an essential criterion of confidence in CMCs published in the KCDB.

On 15 February 2002 the COOMET Quality Forum was established. The main inspirer of COOMET activities in developing and evaluating QMS was the Director of the Slovak Institute of Metrology prof. Matei Bily, who became the first Chair of the Forum with its Secretariat headed by Ekaterina Kromkova, who also represented SMU, Slovakia.

The task of the COOMET Quality Forum and its working body (TC 3.1 "Quality Forum Technical Committee") is coordination of COOMET actions on developing QMS, as well as achieving coherence in understanding the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 17034 and their implementation in NMIs/DIs of COOMET member countries.

There is no doubt that all Heads of the Quality Forum and TC 3.1 (Matei Bily, Stanislav Musil, Stanislav Duris, Andreas Odin, Natalia Muravskaya, Nino Mikanadze), as well as secretariats and all members of the QF and TС 3.1, all auditors and technical experts on peer review of the QMS of COOMET NMIs/DIs contributed to the effective operation of that bodies throughout their existence.

Among active participants of cooperation, who made a significant contribution to the development of activities within the COOMET Quality Forum, the following TC 3.1 members should be mentioned: Azer Gurbanov (Azerbaijan), Lidia Astafieva, Irina Voitek, Tatsiana Kolomiets (Belarus), Haris Memic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Fernando Arruza Rodriguez (Cuba), Irena Lazdauskaite (Lithuania), Enver Sadikoglu (Turkey), Marat Yunusov (Uzbekistan), Viktoria Postnikova (Ukraine) and many other specialists of COOMET NMIs/DIs.

Obviously, the support from all COOMET Presidents (Vladimir Belotserkovskiy, Russia; Nikolay Zhagora, Belarus; Gorislav Sidorenko, Ukraine; Vladimir Krutikov, Russia; Valery Hurevich, Belarus) over those 20 years has also been very important.

The excellent proof of a well-coordinated work of the Quality Forum is the fact that despite the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19 all NMIs/DIs currently have valid COOMET Confirmations of Recognition of their QMS in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025 or ISO 17034.

Allow me on behalf of the COOMET Committee, all COOMET NMIs/DIs to congratulate all the participants of cooperation on the 20^th anniversary of the COOMET Quality Forum's establishment and convey words of appreciation for your activities on developing this field of cooperation.