DAKAR,
14th March 2008 – The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) set its
eyes on the USD580 billion global halal industry today and earmarked
the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) to look into the
developing sector.
The
ICCI president, Sheikh Saleh Kamel said the ICCI would look into the
most basic yet important aspect of the lucrative halal sector, which is
global standards and certification.
“The
global halal industry is huge and yet there is no official authority
that looks into the integrity of the halal mark on a global scale. Now
there will be one,” said Sheikh Saleh in Dakar.
The OIC on the 11th
Summit recognised the ICCI as the principle representative of the
private sector in OIC member states as regards to values, halal and
quality control, and urged all Islamic governments to facilitate the
procedures for activating its mechanism.
Sheikh
Saleh said that this initiative was expected to help develop and
modernise the halal sector, which affects 1.8 billion Muslims
worldwide, foster trade, and facilitate access to genuine halal
products in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
“There
is a need to ensure the entire supply chain of halal products is
protected for the benefit of the Ummah and also those in the industry.
“ICCI’s
mission for halal is not only to provide credible and professional
halal certification but also to help develop existing halal
certification bodies to be at par with global industry requirements,”
he said.
Details
of the ICCI’s global halal program will be unveiled at the third World
Halal Forum, a business gathering of global industry leaders on 12th
and 13th May in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this year.
At
the summit, World Halal Forum founder Jumaatun Azmi said, “It is timely
that the 57 member countries of the OIC give its attention on the needs
of the halal industry and gave the responsibility to the ICCI to act.
With the right partnership and mechanism, work can be done to properly
develop the global halal industry for the benefit of all.”
The
third World Halal Forum themed ‘Sustainable Development through
Investment and Integration’ is expected to draw some 1200 participant
from over 40 countries. It will look into the issues of global halal
standards, certification, Shariah compliance, investment and trade
issues of the global halal industry.
