Brunei Darussalam: ASEAN Halal Industry Must Rise Quickly

Bandar Seri Begawan, MINA – Director of Sharia Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, Haji Abdul Rahman bin Matzin said the halal industry in ASEAN must quickly rise to face the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said through a virtual video conference the 16th ASEAN Working Group on the Halal Food Meeting (AWGHF). Borneo Bulletin reports on Wednesday (July 8).

Abdul Rahman, who chaired the meeting, stressed the importance of the halal industry in ASEAN to accelerate global adoption.

“The halal industry needs to play a greater role in catching up and utilizing new technology in the revolution, starting from manufacturing and throughout the supply chain,” he said.

He also said that the revolution would be able to provide many benefits to industrial expansion.

Issues discussed at the meeting included progress on implementing the ASEAN cooperation framework on Halal Food, the Sub-Regional Halal Cooperation Program under Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Islamic Council of Singapore (MABIMS); Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Region (BIMP-EAGA); and Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand-Growth Triangle (IMT-GT); progress on the implementation of the ASEAN Cooperation Action Plan on Halal Food for 2017-2020; and the establishment of the International Halal Authority (IHAB).

The meeting concluded with the appointment of Cambodia as chairman for the 17th AWGHF Meeting in 2021.

AWGHF was established to facilitate uniformity of Halal standards especially in the ASEAN region in meeting the increasing demand for credible and safe Halal products and services to ensure that the Muslim community feels safe and confident in consuming halal products. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)