Business leaders, policymakers converge
at 3-day Nat’l Halal Confab in Clark
By THEPHILBIZNEWS STAFF
The 2nd Philippine National Halal Conference opened today, July 2, at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga and will run until Thursday, July 4, showcasing an exhibit of Halal-certified products, services and practices in various industries.
The staging of the event, with the theme “Leveraging on Unified Opportunities for All-inclusive Growth in the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion,” is being done by the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Board (PHEDPB), following the success of the first conference held in Davao City last year.
What the conference brings, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is to help make manufacturers and other business enterprises in the country more marketable and friendly to the Muslim consumers.
Staging this particular halal conference in Clark is also part of the government’s efforts to prepare Central Luzon as a Muslim Friendly Tourism Destination, especially for the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian Games this year which will be hosted by the region.
The SEA Games is expected to welcome a large volume of Muslim athletes, delegates and visitors who would be looking for Halal food and related services.
Now more than ever, the exhibit will feature companies with Halal-Certified products and Business-to-Business meetings of the Halal suppliers, manufacturers, traders, and certification bodies.
In a statement sent to THEPHILBIZNEWS, the DTI said: “The Conference will feature several components such as the Assembly of the Muslim Scholars in the Philippines for the religious sector to have a common approach in terms of the new Halal policies of the government; another component is the Cascading of the Philippine Halal programs through the Negosyo Centers of the DTI and other Regional Offices of the Halal Export Board member-agencies.”
“The Conference proper, which will gather local and international major stakeholders in the global Halal industry, will feature various topics related to market access, market opportunities, emerging sectors in the Halal industry as well as the Halal-related services including Islamic finance and tourism; with international speakers from Singapore, USA, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Pakistan,” it added.
Another component of the Conference is the conduct of the 2nd Philippine-Brunei Joint Committee Meeting. This is pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) on Halal cooperation signed by the two countries in 2017.
The Conference is made possible in collaboration with the Philippine Trade Training Center, the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development, the Clark Development Corporation and financial support from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Science and Technology, Mindanao Development Authority and the Department of Agriculture.