JEDDAH — A capacity-building workshop organized by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group has opened in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the aim to highlight the prospects of the halal industry and its role in the socio-economic development of IsDB member countries.

The workshop, which runs on Oct. 21-25, 2018 is being held in collaboration with the Egyptian Commercial Services, Cairo and the General Consulate of Egypt in Jeddah.

In his speech at the opening of the program, Director General of IRTI, Dr. Humayon Dar, spoke of the importance of developing the halal industry.

“The halal industry now becomes a wide spectrum industry including various aspects of daily needs of human beings in general and Muslims in particular. Therefore, in the Islamic finance arena, we need innovative products to serve this emergent segment of the Islamic financial industry,” Dr. Dar said.

“Obviously, there is high demand for awareness and specialized training on the role of Islamic finance in halal industry in the wake of the growing need for a wide spectrum of ethical products including not only foods but other products like tourism as well,” he added.

Ambassador Amro Hazzaa, the Egyptian Commercial Consul in Jeddah, who attended the opening of the workshop, appreciated the role of IRTI in contributing towards capacity building for Egyptian commercial attaches to acquire knowledge and expertise in halal industry and Islamic finance.

The IsDB Group has been designing and delivering specialized training programs on the halal industry, given the rising demand for halal products around the world including from non-Muslims willing to pay for ethical products. IRTI, as the IsDB Group’s research and training unit, has been providing capacity building courses in this regard, with the aim to contribute to sustainable development of IsDB member countries.

Sixteen commercial attaches from the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry are in attendance at the workshop, which covers the standards of monitoring the halal industry and the pre-requisites to grant halal certification for products including pharmaceuticals, foods, cosmetics, fashion, and tourism.

The workshop also examines the issues in the halal industry including access of halal industry to Islamic finance with focus on Islamic financial products, status of the global halal industry, standards and market requirements for halal industry in IsDB member countries, halal quality management services, halal industry value chain, and IsDB strategies for halal industry development.

The workshop is being facilitated by Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, Mr. Zafarjon Khotamov and Mr. Khalid Habeeb from IsDB, as well as two experts from the Spain Halal Institute. — SG