'Thailand Halal Assembly' highlights science, innovation
Convention to also focus on 'importance of halal branding'
The Halal Science Centre of Chulalongkorn University, the Central Islamic Council of Thailand (CICOT) and the Halal Standard Institute of Thailand are jointly hosting an academic conference and international convention and exhibition, “Thailand Halal Assembly”, at the Bangkok Convention Centre, Centara Grand at CentralWorld.
The three-day event, which kicked off on Sunday, is expected to attract more than 10,000 visitors. It aims to promote the body of knowledge in innovation and technologies of halal affairs in Thailand to the global community.
Visitors will also receive information on the progress of technologies, research and the potential of halal science in Thailand, in the hopes of driving the export of Thai halal products in 2015 to grow by 15-20 per cent.
The Thailand Halal Assembly features more than 200 booths of consumer products of Thai and international halal enterprises under the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT).
Also scheduled was a marketing workshop on the topic “Importance of Halal Branding for Export Enhancement”, a seminar on “Islamic Studies for Halal Science Integration”, and Muslim cultural events.
Associate Professor Dr Winai Dahlan, director of the Halal Science Centre at Chulalongkorn and chairman of the Thailand Halal Assembly, said the event would showcase the “magic of science and technology in the Islamic world”.
At the opening ceremony, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said the government had supported the establishment of the Halal Standard Institute of Thailand under CICOT and the Halal Science Centre, as both organisations could support academic affairs in terms of science and administration. This year, the government allocated a budget to supporting the development of a system to comply with religion-certified halal science.
The government expected the Thailand Halal Assembly, regarded as Asia’s biggest halal event, to show the potential for Thailand to become the world’s largest exporter of halal food.
Annually, Thailand exports halal products to more than 57 countries with a total value of US$5 billion (Bt165 billion), making it the world’s fifth-largest halal food exporter. Aiming to improve that ranking, the “Diamond Halal” symbol of quality is being pushed, as this country’s halal products are already recognised globally by their diamond logo.
The organisers are launching www.iamhalal.com to reflect the era of Thailand’s “Digital Halal Economy”.
