Halal 20 Forum in Semarang Officially Started

Semarang, MINA – Vice President KH Ma’ruf Amin on Thursday officially opened the Halal Forum 20 (H20) which was held by the Ministry of Religion’s Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency (BPJPH) in Semarang, Central Java. This activity is part of the grand event of the G20.

“Halal20, as part of the series of Indonesian Presidency in the G20, must be able to produce concrete achievements,” said Ma’ruf Amin, in Semarang on Thursday.

Ma’ruf expressed the importance of international cooperation regarding the guarantee of halal products. According to him, mutual recognition and acceptance of guarantees for halal products is a necessity.

Not only to size opportunities in the global halal market, but also to assume shared responsibility in providing guaranteed halal products to consumers in various parts of the world.

“This is what makes organizing the Halal20 event very strategic and relevant. Indonesia continues to be committed to developing and strengthening cooperation in the global halal market, both with G20 member countries and other export destination countries for Indonesia,” said Ma’ruf.

To realize concrete results, Ma’ruf underlined three things that must be considered in implementing H20. First, Halal20 must be optimized to support the success of Indonesia’s G20 Presidency.

“I encourage BPJPH and representatives of Overseas Halal Institutions to share knowledge, experience and the latest innovations in implementing halal product guarantees,” he said.

Second, cooperation on mutual recognition and mutual acceptance of halal certificates needs to be followed up and added to its scope.

“In particular, I appreciate the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that has been signed between BPJPH and a number of foreign halal institutions. This is a very good first step towards guaranteeing halal products in a holistic and sustainable manner. I hope that similar cooperation will be established in many countries,” he said.

Third, cooperation in developing halal product guarantees between countries should continue to be expanded. According to him, the guarantee of halal products is not only a matter of certification, but also a matter of technology, human resources or HR, and infrastructure.

“To ensure the realization of superior, innovative and competitive halal products, cooperation in technology development must be strengthened, both between institutions and between countries,” he said.

The H20 event lasted for three days from 17-19 November 2022. This activity was attended by 279 participants from 44 countries. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)