The 20th ASEAN Working Group Meeting on Halal Food (AWGHF) was recently held, led by Director of Syariah Affairs Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gemok and participated by representatives from the Syariah Affairs Department at the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA).
The meeting was chaired virtually by Malaysian Syariah Affairs Department.
Officers from the Brunei Islamic Religious Council; the Department of Agriculture and AgriFood, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism; the Brunei Darussalam Food Authority; and the Public Relations, International and MABIMS Division at the MoRA also participated. The AWGHF was established to facilitate the uniformity of halal standards to meet the growing demand for reliable and guaranteed halal products and services, as well as ensure the availability of halal products for the Muslim population in the region.
The meeting also discussed the progress of the implementation of action plans for ASEAN cooperation in halal food.
Among the objectives of the discussion were matters raised during ASEAN meetings; updates on halal cooperation under MABIMS, BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT; progress on the Plan of Action ASEAN Cooperation in Halal Food 2021-2025; and the general guidelines on halal food in ASEAN. – Azlan Othman
