• 
• 

Published on September 8, 2007

The OIC is an annual meeting of 57 member countries, including Thailand, to cooperate on economic, cultural, and tourism issues.

Anirut said yesterday during the World of Muslim 2007 conference that the country's advantages in halal food standards would pave the way for Thailand to become the hub of the halal industry.

He said that high food-science technical knowledge would make Thailand a major country in systematic standards for halal food certification.

Each Muslim country has its own individual system for halal certification. A single certification standard system will increase acceptance by consumers worldwide.

"If Thailand can be a centre as the halal food-standard provider, the country could essentially become the hub for halal food products," Anirut said.

Thailand has only a 0.057-per-cent market share by value of the halal -food market. According to the Halal Industry Development Corp, the industry is worth US$570 billion (Bt19.56 trillion).

Halal is an expanding market, with an average growth of about 50 per cent a year. People in 186 countries consume halal food.

Chatchai Boonyarat, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the Kingdom could significantly boost export growth of halal products to more than 10 per cent if it became a centre for certification of halal standards.

At the World of Muslim forum, held from yesterday to tomorrow in Bangkok, participants agreed that all Muslim and non-Muslim countries should cooperate more on technical knowledge to benefit consumers and increase the value of the industry.

Key sectors that should establish more cooperation are tourism and human-resources development.

OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that to encourage more cooperation among private and public sectors, governments must create new conditions on trade and investment.

Abdullah bin Rashid al-Kharji, vice president of the Islamic Chamber of the Middle East Zone II, said tourism was another key sector in boosting economic growth in Muslim countries.

Since tourists from Muslim and non-Muslim countries are eager to learn about culture in their travels, this sector will show significant growth each year, he said, adding that Muslim countries should promote tourism growth by relying on cultural tourism.

He called for OIC countries to provide incentives for tourism enterprises to serve the demands of tourists from both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.

Chulalongkorn University's Halal Science Centre and Malaysia's International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to promote human-resource development.

Malaysia foresees the potential of Thailand to jointly develop a quality workforce to supply the Islamic finance sector worldwide, said Chulalongkorn University instructor Manoon Rambutr.

Petchanet Praturangkrai

 The Nation