From 4 to 12 June, a training seminar on Halal standards was held in Astana. More than 100 certification, inspection and accreditation specialists, as well as several students from metropolitan universities were trained on OIC SMIIC 1, 2, 3, 22, 24 and a number of other standards. About 100 trainees who attended all modules received confirming certificates. The project was implemented jointly by the National Accreditation Centre TRMC MTI RK and the Asian Development Bank with the participation of international experts in the field of accreditation and certification Halal, press service of the Ministry of Trade and Integration reports.
The closing of the 8-day seminar was held with the participation of Zhanna Esenbekova, Chairperson of the Technical Regulation and Metrology Committee of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In her address to the audience, she emphasised the importance for Kazakhstan's economy of national legislation adapted to ISO SMIIC standards and the availability of trained specialists to promote and monitor compliance with Islamic requirements in standards.
Halal standards are receiving increasing attention worldwide and the areas of Halal standardisation are expanding. Not so long ago the Halal sphere concerned only a few types of everyday products, but today Halal has expanded its boundaries to such spheres as transport and logistics, finance and credit, tourism and hospitality, clothing and footwear production, restaurant business and many others", - said J.Esenbekova. - In this regard, the seminar, where dozens of domestic specialists were trained for 8 days on Halal requirements and OIC/SMIIC international standards, is a very important event.
ADB played a special role in organising the seminar, as it pays great attention to institutional development in Kazakhstan, for which it regularly supports competence building of specialists in new areas for our country.
The National Accreditation Centre, in its turn, ensured a high level of content of the seminar.
One of the lecturers, Dr Muzaffer Ozen, has more than 30 years of experience in the Turkish Standards Institute, participation in the development of standards and SMIIC certification system in Turkey, and is recognised as a leading Halal SMIIC accreditation assessor and auditor in the field of Halal standards. The second lecturer, international expert Emre Kırıcıoğlu, currently working in Belgium, has more than 20 years of experience in the field of product inspection and certification, Halal accreditation, and is a recognised accreditation assessor, certification auditor and trainer with many years of experience in the implementation of Halal OIC/SMIIC standards.
Today, the Halal market is more than 1.8 billion consumers worldwide and a turnover of 2 to 5 trillion dollars, taking into account Halal financing", - noted E. Kırıcıoğlu before the audience. - Kazakhstan has a reputation for self-sufficiency in food supply. Local meat, grain and vegetables have a pleasant taste and are grown in favourable conditions, and given the mental choices of a large part of the population, your country is well positioned to compete in international markets in the production of products acceptable from the point of view of Islam.
Of particular importance is the participation in one of the training modules of students in certification and standardisation of the Eurasian National University named after L. Gumilev, who were invited to the seminar in the framework of cooperation between ENU and NCA.
All factors combined, this seminar is important from the point of view of creating an infrastructure of trust in Halal products and services in Kazakhstan, promoting domestic goods with Islamic labelling for export, and training in Halal.
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