The 9th Halal Expo Dubai concludes on a successful note. Most of the exhibiting companies reported having made good ties with local and international trade visitors. A total of 4,000 people visited the two-day business-to-business event.

Chief executive of the Emirates International Accreditation Center (EIAC), Amina Ahmed Mohammed, officially opened the 9th Halal Expo Dubai, on Sept. 18. This was two days after Malaysia officially recognized the UAE’s “Halal Products Control System” national certificates and the national halal mark issued by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA.

She further said “We are receiving a lot of applications from halal accreditation bodies across the world and have already received applications from 65 of the 120 bodies and more than 1,000 halal products manufacturing plants. 35 of the halal accreditation bodies have already been certified by us and will complete the rest within the next few years — which will allow halal products to enter the UAE markets without any further hassles.”

Companies from more than 15 countries, including Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Spain, Pakistan, Switzerland, India, the UK, Brunei, Thailand, China and the UAE, participated in the show.

Director-general of ESMA, Abdullah Abdul Qader Al-Maeeni, said “This initiative is the first of its kind in the Arab and the Middle East, which will open up export horizons to producers in the country and also export and re-export backing to dozens of new markets, which is positively reflected on the support and encouragement of international industries. It also contributes to food security in the country,”

Minister for fisheries and maritime resources, Abdirahman M. Abdi, said: “The fisheries sector of Somalia is estimated to be worth somewhere between $800 million to $1 billion ... Our main aim for participating at the expo is to explore new opportunities through Dubai.”