By Paandu, The Peninsula
In a major development, the Islamic world will have a central Halal Certification 
Authority and this key regulatory body will be headquartered in Qatar, according to The Peninsula.
Halal mainly refers to food items, meat in particular, which are permissible under Islam.
Also, as a historic achievement for Qatar Chamber, it is to be the concessionaire of Itqan Award. Itqan in Arabic means excellence and it is a coveted excellence award.
Jeddah-based Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA) selected Qatar to be the headquarters of a pan-Islamic authority which will be responsible for issuing Halal certifications, QC said yesterday.
ICCIA is an organ of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) states. This is expected to boost the volume of foreign trade and stimulate food manufacturing, and will consolidate Qatar’s position as a global hub for Islamic economies, the QC said.
This is an important step towards the establishment of a unified global Halal regulatory body, and will help attract more investments.
The achievement will make Qatar an influencing body for the exporters and help attract more investments, in addition to promoting commercial exchange among Muslim countries and reduce unemployment rates and boost exports, the Chamber added.
To certify Halal products would mean that the products must be free of ingredients that are not permissible under Islamic law.
Courtesy: thepeninsulaqatar.com
ARTICLE TWO
QCCI Hails Selection of Qatar to Host Premises of Halal Authority, Excellence Award
Doha, April 05 (QNA) – Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) has praised the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture’s selection of the State of Qatar to host the premises of Halal Authority and another for Itqan (excellence) Award, describing this as a new achievement for Qatar at both Islamic and international levels.
This achievement will also contribute to increasing the volume of foreign trade and stimulating food manufacturing, and will consolidate Qatar’s position as a global hub for Islamic economy, the QCCI said.
In a statement today, the QCCI said that this achievement is an important step towards the establishment of a unified global halal regulatory body, and will help in attracting more investments, in view of the existence of a global umbrella tasked with standardization in issuing Halal certification. It will as well strengthen efforts in terms of the promotion of commercial exchanges between Muslim countries and reduce unemployment rates and boost exports, it added.
HE QCCI Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Thani said that this achievement is an advantage for the State of Qatar and a culmination of efforts spared by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Chamber, expressing confidence that this achievement will contribute to increasing intra-regional trade among members of the Islamic Chamber, especially that the halal certificate will work to ensure a safe and healthy product with high quality.
The Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture’s member states had selected the State of Qatar to host the premises of the two institutions during the 32nd session of the assembly meeting and the 23rd meeting of the board of Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Agriculture which were held recently in Jeddah.
Meanwhile, the QCCI discussed during a meeting today with a visiting delegation from Azerbaijan ways of enhancing joint cooperation in different economic sectors and means of encouraging Qatari businessmen to invest in Azerbaijan and establish partnerships with their counterparts.
The meeting was attended by Azeri Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev and QCCI Vice President Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Towar.
The Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan welcomed Qatari investments in his country in various sectors, particularly in infrastructure, real estate, industry, agriculture and food manufacturing, among others, adding that there were promising investment opportunities in Azerbaijan and encouraging investment climate.
He added that his country attaches great importance to the State of Qatar, calling on Qatari businessmen to visit his country to explore investment opportunities available, meet with Azeri counterparts and visit industrial and economic zones there.
For his part, the QCCI Vice President stressed the chamber’s welcome to strengthening cooperation between entrepreneurs from both sides, pointing out that Qatari businessmen were willing to explore the opportunities available in Azerbaijan. (QNA)
