Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) deputy secretary-general Datuk Seri Norazman Ayob, witnessed the signing of MoU between Halal Development Corporation Bhd (HDC) chief executive officer (CEO) Hairol Ariffein Sahari and Korea Institute of Halal Industry (KIHI) CEO Dr James Noah, in conjunction with HDC’s virtual participation in the Seoul Food & Hotel 2021 and aired online during its World Halal Business Conference 2021 Webinar series
KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Halal Development Corporation Bhd (HDC) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korea Institute of Halal Industry (KIHI) to promote halal production and enhance the Muslim-friendly hospitality services (MFHS) to strengthen Malaysia’s position as the centre of halal ecosystem development.
The signing of the memorandum comes at an important juncture in Malaysia’s halal ecosystem development as it emphasized the private sector’s role in driving the nations’ economic growth.
The collaboration with KIHI, an organization established with the endorsement of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural for the development of the Korean halal industry, represented a strategic partnership and initiative, said HDC, an agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
“This strategic initiative brings together both local and foreign entities to ensure all parties can benefit from business intelligence sharing, industry best practices, and market expansion for both Malaysia and the Republic of Korea (ROK),” it said in a statement today.
The MoU was signed by HDC chief executive officer (CEO) Hairol Ariffein Sahari and KIHI CEO Dr James Noah, witnessed by MITI deputy secretary-general Datuk Seri Norazman Ayob, in conjunction with HDC’s virtual participation in the Seoul Food & Hotel 2021 and aired online during its World Halal Business Conference 2021 Webinar series.
“There has been strong demand for halal products and MFHS due to the influx of Muslim visitors into non-Muslim countries such as Japan, China and South Korea.
“Back in 2019, Muslim tourists into ROK exceeded one million, which led to strong efforts by the Korea Tourism Organisation in adopting Malaysia’s standard for MFHS infrastructure.
“We hope that this strategic collaboration will open up business opportunities among our industry players with more than 170 targeted Korean companies within two years, from manufacturers to eateries and spas, and make Malaysia as the reference for MFHS training and consultancy,” said Norazman.
Aside from that, 120 Korean companies will be privileged to be certified with MFHS in their business management, which will serve as future business partners to Malaysian companies.
This is in line with the Malaysian government’s aspirations to create quality employment opportunities and accelerate the halal industry internationalization in specific value-added sectors.
The collaboration between HDC and KIHI will also enable technology transfer and commercialisation of related research and development products, whereby ROK is one of the countries with a world-class network of research institutions.
Source : BERNAMA