抖阴短视频

MANILA: Philippine finance, tourism and food industry representatives are preparing for the country鈥檚 debut at the Middle East鈥檚 largest halal exhibition, which will take place in 抖阴短视频 later this month.

The annual Saudi International Halal Expo will be held in Riyadh on Oct. 28-30, providing a platform to stakeholders from all over the world to see and showcase the latest innovations, research and development in the global halal market.

Led by the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine delegation and exhibitors will range from fruit, food and beverage, and supplement sectors to tourism, travel and finance. They will showcase their products and projects under 鈥淗alal-friendly Philippines鈥� 鈥� a government umbrella brand promoting the country as a halal market hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

鈥淭his is the first time that we are participating,鈥� Aleem Guiapal, DTI Halal Industry Development program manager, told Arab News. 鈥淚t is about building relationships and to strengthen our presence in ASEAN and GCC countries.鈥�

The predominantly Catholic Philippines 鈥� where Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the almost 120 million population 鈥� has been making efforts to tap into the global halal market, which is estimated to be worth more than $7 trillion.

By increasing its presence and doubling the number of its halal-certified products and services, the Philippine government plans to raise $4 billion in investments and generate about 120,000 jobs by 2028.

Guiapal said that the Filipino halal market鈥檚 strength is in agricultural products such as coconut oil, fruits, nutraceutical foods, baked goods, supplements and wellness items, but there will also be construction companies joining the country鈥檚 delegation at the Riyadh fair.

鈥淏ecause if we want halal-friendly tourism or hotels, the contractors also ought to know how suitable their hotels would be,鈥� he said.

Part of the Philippines鈥� strategy to revive its tourism sector after the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on expanding its halal tourism portfolio and developing halal-friendly properties.

The Southeast Asian country is also developing Islamic financial services and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank, will also be part of its delegation.

The aim is to pitch in 鈥渙pportunities for Islamic banks to open their Islamic banking operation in the Philippines,鈥� BSP officer Winnie Claire Jamoner-Carbonel told Arab News.

鈥淲e want them to know that a lot has happened in the Philippines in Islamic banking and we want them to know that there is a market that no one serves ... so they could take a chunk of that market.鈥�