06
Events
@Halal | July-august. 2020
AERIal VIEW: Prayer and Tawaf of Muslims
Around Al Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Haj 2020 to go on
The haj will go on this year with only a
“limited number of pilgrims from various
nationalities who already reside in Saudi
Arabia”.
The Saudi ministry of haj and umrah said
in a statement on June 22 that the decision
is based in light of the continuation of the
Covid-19 pandemic and the risk of its spread in
crowded spaces and large gatherings.
“This decision is to ensure haj is performed
safely from a public health perspective while
observing all preventative measures and
the necessary social distancing protocols
to protect human beings from the risks
associated with this pandemic and following
the teachings of Islam in preserving the lives of
human beings,” said the ministry.
The decision ends months of concerns for
the international Muslim community about the
feasibility of the pilgrimage this year amid the
pandemic, especially since Saudi authorities
suspended the umrah towards the end of
February and still maintains its ban on inbound
international flights.
Several nations had earlier already
decided to defer this year’s haj for their
citizens citing safety and health concerns.
The countries include Indonesia, Malaysia,
Singapore, and South Africa.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday lifted a threemonth
curfew across the country even as
cases of Covid-19 continue to persist in the
country. The ministry of health on June 22
reported 3,393 new cases, taking the total tally
to 161,005, including 1,307 fatalities.
Around 2.5 million pilgrims from abroad and
inside Saudi Arabia were expected to perform
the haj this year, that started around July 28.
Last year, 2,489,406 pilgrims performed
the haj, with 75 per cent, or 1,855,027 coming
from abroad, according to data from Saudi’s
General Authority for Statistics.
Halal Expo
Canada postponed
to June 2021
Halal Expo Canada will not take place in
September this year due to the continued
Covid-19 outbreak and will instead be moved
to June 2021, its organisers said recently.
Grace Aguilar, Director of Operations of
The Expo Hut, the company behind Halal Expo
Canada, said since the pandemic has “not been
fully contained across the world, overseas
exhibitors and buyers have been unable to
attend the exhibition”.
“As we advised in the past, we are
protecting all of our exhibitors and giving you
100 per cent which will be used towards 2021
edition without imposing any further additional
fees or price increase with the guarantee to
secure the same location as per the previous
agreement,” said Aguilar.
The B2B halal lifestyle expo was scheduled
for Sept 17-19 in Toronto.
Virtual
platform
for World Halal Expo
Event will bring together more than 100 companies
worldwide and over 2,500 buyers
THE 1st Virtual World Halal Webinar Series
& Trade Fair, Malaysia-Nigeria, organised by
My Events International Sdn Bhd, is the first
virtual halal trade fair held in six months.
With that said, the first edition was
supposed to be held at Abuja International
Conference Centre, Nigeria on Mar 12-13 but postponed
to the following year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This virtual platform was developed to support and
assist physical exhibition. However, it allows exhibitors
and participants to connect globally with no geographical
boundaries and time limitation.
This way, entrepreneurs can fully showcase their
products and brands globally with minimal cost for an
extended period. Building trust in virtual showcases,
entrepreneurs can engage within the online community
via the platform.
Islam, being the fastest-growing religion, is everevolving
to meet greater efficiency in the quality of
Islamic products and services in various sectors which
has caused a more significant push for the constant
development of growth.
Over half of Nigeria’s population is Muslim, and
this platform could not have been organised at a better
time, just when the events industry crashed since the
Covid-19 pandemic. The African countries are now
emphasising on halal certifications and framework.
Halal certification is considered a key enabler for the
successful development of the Nigeria halal industry,
and the government is making significant efforts in
making Nigeria one of the global hubs.
The virtual platform comprises four main components,
namely:
• Trade and Investment Virtual Exhibition
• World Halal Dialogue Webinar
• B2B meetings
• Virtual Field Trips
Supporting the government’s initiative to produce
a useful halal framework, the organiser has lined up
weekly activities throughout the six months for the
benefit of the business sectors.
They opened up vast opportunities both in local and
international markets to showcase the products and
services to numerous parties.
This event will facilitate the need to build competitiveness
for them to stay globally-accepted.
The organiser has also brought together an array of
exhibitors covering the main sectors and industries in
halal like:
• Food & Beverage
• Education
• Healthcare & Pharmaceutical
• Tourism & Hospitality
• Agriculture
• Science & Technology
• Islamic Banking
• Hotels & Restaurants
• Jewelleries & Gifts
• Fashion &Textile, and many more.
The World Halal Dialogue Webinar aims to encourage
high-level talk and raise significant concerns over
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the halal
industry worldwide.
There will be five series of exciting topics for the halal
industry:
• The future of Halal
• Healthcare & Pharmaceutical
• Islamic Banking
• Agriculture
• Education
These topics were carefully selected to go in line with
expectations from the recovery period of the pandemic.
The goal of these conversations is to generate new
perspectives and incubate meaningful connections
between leaders and industry experts from different
continents.
It will inspire leaders and inventors between countries
and industry players. Virtual Field trips and Live
Product Demo are also organised for the participants
and exhibitors to leading retailers, manufacturing and
chamber of commerce in both countries.
It will provide them with the insights of other
resources and opportunities and simultaneously share
knowledge and exchange ideas.
Speaking on this webinar, the Organising Chairman
Aizuddinur Zakaria said: “Competition everywhere has
become more intense now. We all need to keep forging
ahead, not just remain at par, but to be ahead of the game.
“As organisers, we are only here to help provide the
virtual platform for the halal industry for us to stay globally
competitive, at the same time make new friends.”
This event will bring together more than 100 companies
worldwide and over 2,500 buyers. It will facilitate
the business matching between prospective exhibitors
and buyers.
Nigeria has the 10th largest proven reserves of petroleum
in the world and is a member of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), making Nigeria
the largest economy in Africa.
Petroleum products are the primary export, about
90 per cent of Nigeria’s exports. The total global Muslim
population is about two billion.
Africa has a population of 1.216 billion, including
635.67 million Muslims. Nigeria’s capital Abuja
has approximately six million people with a GDP of
US$1,968.56 per capita in the year 2017.
Nigeria has one of the world’s highest economic
growth rate averaging at 7.4 per cent according to the
World Bank. Nigeria is the seventh most populous country
in the world, with 200 million population.
To learn more about the 1st Virtual World Halal
Webinar Series & Trade Fair, Malaysia-Nigeria, follow
on Facebook: World Halal Expo 2020, Instagram: worldhalalexpo
and our Website: worldhalalexpo.net