World Halal Forum Returns to Malaysia

The World Halal Forum (WHF) will return to Malaysia at the Kuala
Lumpur Convention Centre for the third time when the 4th WHF 2009 is
held from May 4 to 5.

With Saudi chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Countries), Dato’ Seri Sheikh Saleh
Abdullah Kamel at the helm of WHF, larger delegations from the Middle
East are expected at this year’s event.

Large delegations are also expected from South East Asia, Australia,
New Zealand plus participation from Brazil, Uruguay and Russia who have
shown interest in this annual forum and the Halal industry.

Themed ‘Achieving Global Halal Integrity’, the 4th WHF will be the
biggest so far, in view of the impact and importance of the Global
Halal Standard (GHS) as well as the expansion of the forum’s format,
said an organiser.

“Halal culinary delights are common nationwide. Being a
predominantly Muslim country, Halal food is not only available in Malay
restaurants, but also in various cuisines such as Chinese, Indian and
Western throughout the country,” said Peter Brokenshire, general
manager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The 4th World Halal Forum 2009 will have two parallel streams to
accommodate delegates from every corner of the world.  One stream will
concentrate on the modules of the GHS while the other will cover issues
concerning Business and Trade in the Halal industry.

The former will target participants from quality assurance and
standards bodies, Shariah experts, certification bodies, industry
experts and cover topics such as laboratory testing and analysis,
animal welfare and handling, cosmetics and toiletries, pharmaceuticals
and foodservice.

The parallel Business and Trade stream will see global Halal
industry giants and major Halal producing nations discuss and highlight
the latest developments in the Halal industry on a global scale.

Several country features, representing different regions including
Asia, the Middle East and America, will also focus on country-specific
deliberations on the global Halal trade, he added.-TradeArabia News Service