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Last Updated: Jun 25th, 2007 - 17:07:26 |
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“730 people from 27 countries attended the WHF 2006. 70 per cent of the delegates were from the business sector and, more significantly, 75 per cent represented the middle and senior management sectors. We are expecting an increase of participation this year, especially since government leaders from other countries are expected to attend the forum to share their thoughts on the halal agenda,”
- Khairy Jamaluddin, chairman, World Halal Forum. |
The Minister of International Trade & Industry of Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz today officiated the joint launch of the 4th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS 2007) and the World Halal Forum 2007 (WHF 2007) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
Both the events will be held at the KLCC in May this year. The WHF 2007 will be held between May 7 and 8, 2007, while MIHAS 2007 will be organised between May 9 and 13, 2007. The themes for both the events – ‘Expanding the Halal Frontiers’ and ‘Harmonising the Global Halal Market’ respectively, highlight the international nature of the events.
The decisions to schedule both the events back-to-back also emphasises to the international business community of Malaysia’s commitment in promoting the halal industry on a global scale and its seriousness to consolidate its resources in marketing the industry.
Furthermore, in her speech, Dato’ Seri Rafidah pointed out that the joint launch of MIHAS 2007 and WHF 2007, is a good example of a public-private sector initiative to provide an appropriate platform to showcase Malaysia’s halal industry.
“MIHAS, which is being held for the fourth consecutive time, has made its mark in the global halal industry and has successfully managed to place Malaysia as a leader in its own right. World Halal Forum, which is into its second year of organising, has indeed managed to open the world’s eyes, especially industry players, on the various opportunities that lie in front of them,” she said.
Dato’ Seri Rafidah also strongly urged local and regional entrepreneurs to use MIHAS 2007 as a platform to further promote local halal products and penetrate the international market.
MIHAS, which made its debut in 2004, has become an iconic brand name in the halal industry and is seen as an effective gateway especially to the global Muslim market. Last year, MIHAS attracted 27,523 visitors to its 505 booths. Forty per cent of its visitors were from the trade sector representing 60 countries.
It is expected that MIHAS 2007 showcase will see a 25 per cent increase in the number of visitors especially so when both events are held back to back and at the same venue.
Outlining the scope of this year’s forum, Encik Khairy Jamaluddin, the Chairman of WHF explained, “With the theme ‘Harmonising the Global Halal Market’, the two-day forum will discuss the challenges and business opportunities with important topics such as manufacturing, science and research, logistics, investment models, halal market growth and also global halal standards”.
“The forum is indeed a good platform and time to consolidate and gather all players to work as a cohesive, united body. Besides presentations by guest speakers, the forum will have a combination of plenary and breakout sessions, to better encourage the exchange of views and ideas, experiences and lead to possible ways to promote and strengthen the commercial applications of halal in its entire value chain.
“730 people from 27 countries attended the WHF 2006. 70 per cent of the delegates were from the business sector and, more significantly, 75 per cent represented the middle and senior management sectors.
“We are expecting an increase of participation this year, especially since government leaders from other countries are expected to attend the forum to share their thoughts on the halal agenda,” added Encik Khairy.
MIHAS 2007 is hosted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and organised by MATRADE jointly with the Islamic Dakwah Foundation Malaysia (YADIM) in association with the Ministry of Entrepeneur and Cooperative Development (MECD).
MIHAS has successfully created a platform that enables the world halal industry to congregate and further facilitate the buying and selling of global halal products thus projecting itself as a truly international event.
Organised by KasehDia Sdn Bhd and hosted for the first time this year by the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), the WHF has managed to create a paradigm shift on what constitutes Halal and its applications.
Together with MIHAS, the WHF has reintroduced ‘Halal’ from a different perspective and created a prominent platform that has spurred the dynamic growth of the global halal industry.
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