Iran, Indonesia establish Halal product cooperation

The MoU was signed on Tuesday by the Indonesian Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi and the Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari, Indonesian news agency Antara reported.

"On behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs, I warmly welcome the signing of the MoU on halal product assurance cooperation between Indonesia and Iran," Sa'adi said in a statement released on Tuesday.

The MoU was signed during an official visit by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, who was received by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at Bogor Palace on Tuesday.

According to Sa'adi, his ministry is supporting strengthened cooperation in halal products at the global level since Indonesia is aiming to become the No. 1 producer of halal products in the world.

“To realize this goal, cooperation and product guarantee synergy are needed among all stakeholders at the global level,” he said.

"We hope that this MoU can strengthen the intended synergy so that Indonesia and Iran can become important players in the industry and the global market for halal products."

Sa'adi said he hopes cooperation would increase trade transactions for halal products and support efforts to provide economic benefits and strengthen prosperity for both countries.

Muhammad Aqil Irham, the head of the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), said Iran is the sixth country to have signed an MoU on halal product assurance with Indonesia.

Five countries have signed such MoUs with Indonesia earlier: Chile, Argentina, Hungary, Belarus and Turkey.

"Furthermore, we will immediately follow up on this G2G [government-to-government] MoU by discussing a Mutual Recognition Agreement, or MRA between BPJPH and halal institutions in Iran to form a mutual acceptance of BPJPH's halal certificates and halal institutions in Iran on a reciprocal basis," Irham stated.