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2nd July, 2008
KOTA KINABALU: 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 yesterday.
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, 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.
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