A three-day international halal industry fair opened its doors in the Bosnian capital yesterday.

The Sarajevo Halal Fair (SHF) – the second-ever halal fair in Sarajevo – is organized by Bosna Bank International and hosts around 100 exhibitors from 36 countries. Delivering a speech via video conference, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad voiced hope that the fair would become a traditional meeting point of the halal industry.

"In recent years, the investment potential of the halal industry has been proven. Halal is far beyond being a Muslim-oriented industry. Halal production has now moved to the universal level," said Mohamad.

Among the participants, İsrafil Kuralay, the vice president of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO), said that the halal product market in recent years has become a very remarkable market.

Kuralay said that in the halal food industry Turkey grew by nearly 100% each year.

"We are aware of the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this sector. I have the belief that joint investments and projects would be very beneficial," said Kuralay.

The fair will enable participants from the Balkan countries, including Serbia, Slovenia and Albania, as well as from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia and EU countries to introduce halal food products.

It will close tomorrow with the Sarajevo Halal Fair Award ceremony for the most successful participants.