Doha: Qatar will host the ‘World Halal Day 2018’, according to private sector leader Qatar Chamber, which is organising the event.
This was announced during the ‘5th World Halal Summit’ held recently in Istanbul under the patronage of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani led a delegation during the summit, which included director-general Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi and board members Dr Mohamed Gohar al-Mohamed, Ali Abdullatif al-Misnad, and Abdul Aziz Ridwani.
On the sidelines of the summit, al-Mohamed, on behalf of the chamber, signed an agreement with the United World Halal Development for the hosting of the next ‘World Halal Day’ slated in Doha on November 1, 2018.
Sheikh Khalifa said the international halal conference, which is celebrated every November 1st, has the following objectives, ‘Food for All’, ‘United against Hunger’, ‘Preserve the Nature’, and ‘Striving to Build a One Human Community’.
He stressed that hosting the conference in Doha will encourage food, cosmetics, travel and tourism, and infrastructure firms to invest in Qatar.
World Halal Day aims to create an in-depth understanding on Halal and to enhance the industry. It also aims to raise awareness on current issues related to the Halal economy and how to address them, Sheikh Khalifa noted.
He stressed that the conference provides “a good platform” for the key players in the Halal market, as well as international gurus and leaders of the industry to explore the huge potential of Halal industry and the creative yields of its market through B2B meetings.
Sheikh Khalifa said the halal market is growing rapidly, reaching $4tn worldwide. He urged Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member countries to boost their contribution in the Halal market, considering that their share is only about 20% of the total world’s Halal trade.
He said the halal exhibition, which was held on the sidelines of the ‘5th World Halal Summit’, offered “a brilliant opportunity” for Islamic countries to intensify cooperation ties and address issues affecting the industry.
The summit attracted leading institutions and organisations from more than 80 countries, including 57 OIC member countries, while the OIC Halal Expo, included many sectors of Halal industry, including food, finance, tourism, Islamic medicine and pharmacy, and cosmetics.
It included workshops and seminars on Islamic finance, Halal food industry, Islamic tourism, Haj and Umrah, Halal medicine and chemistry, and furniture.
