The COVID-19 situation around the world showed that it is important to be able to maintain and strengthen cooperation on a sustainable food supply chain.
For this purpose, a Joint Action Plan for sustainable food security was signed today, on July 27, by the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA).
The signing ceremony took place following the results of the International video conference ‘Development of a single market of food products with added value in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states.’ Director General of the IOFS Yerlan Baidaulet noted in his speech the need for cooperation between the business sector and agriculture ministries of Islamic countries.
“We should develop the food industry by developing a single value-added food market in the IOFS/OIC countries. Among the business structures of these countries, we need to create favorable conditions for expanding mutual trade, attracting Islamic finance, and increasing exports and imports. We also need to establish a system of production, processing and certification of organic and halal products in order to increase food supplies to Islamic countries with the aim to activate our own agricultural production and reduce post-harvest losses of products,” Baidaulet said.
He also stressed that the IOFS supported the initiative of Kazakhstan to establish the Islamic Food Processing Association (IFPA), which was announced by Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov at the second session of the IOFS General Assembly in August 2019 that was held in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the Resolution on the establishment of the IFPA was adopted.
“The Islamic Organization for Food Security invited the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA under OIC) to a strategic partnership to implement the main objectives of the IFPA and create effective mechanisms for interaction between the private and public sectors,” Baidaulet added.
The main task of the IFPA is to create favorable conditions for the development of the food industry of the IOFS/IOC member states by addressing the legislative and regulatory issues at the interstate level with the aim to expand mutual trade, attract Islamic finance, exchange information, as well as establish mutually beneficial contacts and solve transport and logistic issues.
More than 50 participants took part in the event, including Kazakh Agriculture Minister Saparkhan Omarov and the ICCIA Secretary General Yousef Hassan Khalawi. All meeting participants supported the proposed initiatives.
Source: https://kazakh-tv.kz/en/view/business/page_215180_iofs-and-iccia-sign-a-joint-action-plan-for-sustainable-food-security
