The annual meeting of the World Halal Food Council (WHFC) will be held in Jakarta on 16-18, January 2012. The event which will take place at the Sultan Hotel is the first meeting since June 2011, when the WHFC was reactivated, after being known over recent years as the World Halal Council.
WHFC meeting will be attended by not less than 25 halal certification bodies, who are the members of WHFC, from various countries around the world. The President of WHFC, Ir. Lukmanul Hakim, MSi., saying, the agenda of this annual meeting will discuss working program of WHFC, Halal standards, and implementation of both socialization and education of WHFC as well, particularly in various matters of halal food, medicine and cosmetics. Not only halal certification bodies, the Annual General Meeting of WHFC will also be attended by relevant government agencies of Indonesia, management of halal manufacturers products and government representatives from neighboring countries.
As it is known, WHFC had been established in 1999 in Indonesia, and Prof. Hj. Aisjah Girindra had been unanimously appointed as the President. Over the years, WHFC changed its name becoming World Halal Council (WHC). But on June 23, 2011, WHFC members arranged a special meeting and agreed to reactivate WHFC by selecting Ir. Lukmanul Hakim, M. Si as the President, and established Jakarta as the location for the headquarters of WHFC.
Lukmanul Hakim who also served as the Director of LPPOM MUI, adding that the election of Indonesia as the venue for the annual meeting of WHFC this year is the right step. Because, Indonesia is a very potential market for halal products from around the world, With a population of 240 hundred million people, where nearly 200 million inhabitants of them are Muslims, then, Indonesia holds an important position in the arena of the world’s halal business.
In comparison, Malaysia’s current population is about 27 million people, while the whole population of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Kuwait, when combined all together, only reach about 109 million inhabitants. Compare it with the population of Muslims in Indonesia which is nearly 200 million.
In addition that it is backed by the purchasing power, Indonesia, where its halal certification is handled by LPPOM MUI, also has both Halal Certification System and Halal Assurance System which have been recognized worldwide. Currently, the standards of halal assurance system by LPPOM MUI have been recognized by other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and countries in the European region. At the international level, Indonesia is also known as the initiator of the establishment of the World Halal Council or the World Halal Food Council or WHFC, “said the Director of LPPOM MUI, Ir. Lukmanul Hakim, MSi.
(Translated into English by Usman Effendi AS).
