KOTA KINABALU, July 1
(Bernama) — Sabah Assistant Minister of Industrial Development, Jainab
Ahmad, has welcomed the establishment of a Mindanao Halal Forum within
the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East Asean Growth Area
(BIMP-EAGA).
She said this would augur well for both Sabah’s small and medium industries producing halal products and Mindanao.
“The market for halal products is big and we should fully exploit
this business opportunity. I believe establishing the forum is a wise
and timely move for suppliers within the BIMP-EAGA,” she told Bernama
Tuesday.
Jainab was asked to comment on the move by halal industry stakeholders in Mindanao to establish the forum.
The stakeholders agreed to set up the forum following a
round-table discussion with the Mindanao Economic Development Council
(MEDCo).
The forum would serve as a mechanism to facilitate information
exchange and the synchronising of efforts by various stakeholders to
realise the full potential of Mindanao’s halal industry.
According to a statement issued by MEDCo today, the forum would
comprise representatives of the government, the private sector and
donor agencies.
MEDCo chairman, Virgilio Leyretana, said the Philippines
government and private sector already had existing programmes and
projects to boost the halal industry.
“The creation of the forum runs parallel to Philippines President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s directive in 2005 to harmonise all government
programmes related to the halal trade by ensuring compliance with
international standards and effective implementation of the halal
export development programme,” he said.
Mindanao is home to about four million Muslims. The island region is also the Philippines’ component of the BIMP-EAGA.
