Halal sector players converge in Istanbul for 5th OIC Halal Expo

I S TANBUL: The fifth Organisat ion of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC) Halal Expo is set to open here Thursday with an expected participation of up to 200 companies and brands from various countries and halal sectors.

The three- day exhibition, at the Lutfi Kirdar International Convention and Exhibition Centre ( ICEC), is organised simultaneously with the World Halal Summit ( WHS) Istanbul 2017.

The events are being held under the auspices of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The exhibit ion covers various halal segments such as food, tourism, Islamic finance, textile as well as medical and pharmaceutical products.

Orga n i ser s tout the Halal Expo as the leading platform showcasing halal certified products in Turkey, taking into consideration commercial expectations of participating companies involved in marketing and promotional activities in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, the Far East and the United States.

Media reports here cited World Halal Summit Council Chairman, Yunus Ete, as saying that the world halal sector was worth near the US$ 4 trillion mark.

According to him, the f igure encompassed US$ 2 trillion in Islamic finance, US$ 1 trillion in the halal food sector, with hala l tourism chalking up US$ 250 billion. The rest is in halal medicine, cosmetics and textile.

The Halal Expo is organised by the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade, a subsidiary organ of the OIC, and the OIC- affiliated Standards and Metrology I ns t i t ut e for Is l amic Countries based here, in collaboration with Discover Events.

The summit, meanwhile, features sessions focusing on topics surrounding Islamic finance, halal food, Islamic tourism, haj and umrah, halal medicine, pharmacy and chemistry as well as other segments of Islamic lifestyle. — Bernama