Newsletter Halal Italia April 2011 / Newsletter N° 002

A delegation from Halal Italia and CO.RE.IS. Italiana was asked to represent Italy at the “First Gulf Conference on the Halal Industry and Its Services” which was held in Kuwait City on 24th to 26th January 2011. The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and by the GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO), with the participation of the most important international players involved in halal certification and the halal industry, including the ICCI (Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry) in Jeddah, the IHI (International Halal Integrity Alliance) and the Halal Industry Development Foundation, and the Malaysian Ministry of Religious Affairs. The national authorities for food security in the Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia and the UAE also attended. Thanks to the assistance of the Italian Embassy in Kuwait and the ICE in Kuwait, the Halal Italia delegation had the opportunity of establishing important links with the Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce for the development of trade relations that will facilitate the importation of Italian products certified by Halal Italia.

The Director of the Ethics Committee for Halal Certification in CO.RE.IS. Italiana and Chairman of the Higher Council of ISESCO (Islamic Education, Science and Culture Organization) in the West, Imam Yahya Pallavicini, spoke at the Second Symposium on Islamic Communities and Minorities in Europe, organised by the Secretariat General of the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference) in Warsaw from 8th to 10th December 2010. The OIC, the second largest international organization after the United Nations, brings together 57 Member State nations having a Muslim majority. There were also Muslim delegations from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Russia, Belarus, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Moldova, Switzerland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo and Denmark.As well as chairing the final working session on “Religious Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence,” Imam Yahya Pallavicini also spoke at the session on “Opportunities and Challenges for Islamic Communities and Minorities in Europe,” taking economic challenges as his theme. As part of Muslims’ positive entrepreneurial experiences, one of these challenges is the increasingly important role of halal certification and Islamic finance in the development of products and services

The First Gulf Conference on the Halal Industry and Its Servicesin Kuwait

International Meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Warsaw

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An important institutional recognition that gives further importance to Halal Italia certification: following the Interministerial Agreement in support of Halal Italia, signed on June 30th, 2010 at the Foreign Ministry in Rome, the Italian Ministry of Health has created a window about Halal Italia certification in the International Veterinary section of its website. In “Export Certifications”, the Halal Italia certification is listed as one of the conditions that facilitate access to international markets for Italian meat and meat-based products:http://www.salute.gov.it/veterinariaInternazionale/paginaInternaMenuVeterinariaInternazionale.jsp?id=1626&lingua=italiano&menu=esportazione Further, in the “International Agreements” section, the text of the Ministerial Convention has been published (under the heading “Paesi islamici - Islamic Countries”):http://www.salute.gov.it/veterinariaInternazionale/paginaInternaMenuVeterinariaInternazionale.jsp?id=1249&lingua=italiano&menu=strumenti

Finally, in “Export Certifications”, (meat and meat-based products), still under the heading, “Paesi islamici - Islamic Countries”, you can find a facsimile of the Halal Italia export certificate:http://www.salute.gov.it/veterinariaInternazionale/paginaInternaMenuVeterinariaInternazionale.jsp?id=1242&lingua=italiano&menu=strumenti

These concrete steps are another means of increasing Italian and international visibility for products that carry the Halal Italia certificate.

Halal Certification in Italy on the Ministry of Health Website

In connection with supporting the development of business communication and innovation in the halal industry in Italy, an important agreement has been signed between the Carlo Cattaneo University - LIUC in Castellanza (Province of Varese), CO.RE.IS. Italiana and Hala Italia. LIUC (www.liuc.it) which was founded twenty years ago and collaborates with over 75 foreign universities, has the backing of the Union of Industrialists of the Province of Varese and has strong institutional ties with the Region of Lombardy, the Province of Varese, the Municipality of Castellanza, as well as other public and private entities. This synergy aims to develop research and training, provision of Muslim-concerned services, process and product innovation, and Islamic marketing. The goal is to develop a local joint service of management and managerial support for the internationalisation of companies in the Varese area.Also with regard to training, we would like to note that the aims and content of halal certification were the topic of the lecture that CO.RE.IS. Italiana and Halal Italia gave at the Bocconi University in Milan March 24th, 2011 as part of the course Innovation and Operations in International Business held by Prof. Valeria Belvedere..

Education: the agreement with LIUC University and a lectureat the Bocconi University

EMAIL info@halalitalia.org / WEB www.halalitalia.org

Newsletter Halal Italia April 2011 / Newsletter N° 002

that comply with both Islamic religious norms and European laws and requirements. An example of this that was cited as best practice was the experience of Halal Italia. If they are developed with an eye to quality, commercial initiatives can also make a major contribution to integration, and to intercultural and interfaith understanding in both Europe and in Muslim-majority countries.