Trade Minister Ömer Bolat attended Thursday the opening of the four-day 9th World Halal Summit and 10th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Halal Expo held in Istanbul, highlighting the increasing share of trade with Islamic countries and the significance of the halal sector.
"The share of our trade with Islamic countries in our total trade 20 years ago stood at 11%. Last year, we increased this figure to 26%. Our goal is to raise this ratio to 35% by 2028," the minister said.
Reflecting on the years when halal initiatives began, Bolat emphasized the importance of organizing the halal fair as a significant progress.
Referring to the efforts in the halal sector in Türkiye, Bolat said: "There were significant uncertainties and differences in this field among Islamic countries as well. A significant development has been achieved in this regard, and the Islamic Forum for Halal Accreditation Bodies (IFHAB) was officially established."
"The organization affiliated with the OIC successfully held its first general assembly three weeks ago," he added.
He also mentioned the ETHEXPO Eurasia Tourism and Health Fair held within the scope of the summit, touching upon heightened interest in health tourism in Türkiye in recent years.
Explaining that in addition to the trade in goods, which he said stood at $25 trillion worldwide, there are also trade services worth some $7.2 trillion.
"Health tourism, which is among these services, is an important sector that increases in importance and size in our country with each passing period, that we are proud of," he added.
"We consider the topics highlighted at the 9th World Halal Summit, such as halal supply chains, halal certification and accreditation, participation financing in the halal economy, digitalization and innovation in the global halal economy, as valuable, and we see the halal economy, which is rising toward $10 trillion as important for our foreign trade," he said separately on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
"The Halal Expo 2023 and the 9th World Halal Summit to be held between Nov. 23-26 are expected to help Türkiye grow and become even more influential in the halal market," CEO of Discover Events and World Halal Summit Council President Yunus Ete told Daily Sabah earlier.
According to the OIC Halal Economy Report, Türkiye, Indonesia and Malaysia have managed to become among the top 20 exporters of halal products.
The OIC is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with 48 being Muslim-majority countries.
This year's edition of the event, sponsored by Turkuvaz Media, the parent company of Daily Sabah, is expected to see participation of more than 500 local and foreign companies from over 40 countries, according to organizers.