Vice President Awaits The Concrete Role Of ISMI In Developing Halal Ecosystems

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin/PHOTO BETWEEN HO BPMI SETWAPRES

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin looks forward to the concrete role of the Indonesian Muslim Saudagar Association (ISMI) in developing the halal ecosystem, in order to help realize Indonesia as the center of the world's leading halal producer.

This was conveyed by the Vice President when giving virtual directions at the Makassar International Halal Trade and Business International (Mihrab) International Business Gathering, the Muslim Saudagar Association throughout Indonesia (ISMI) Summit and Expo 2023, from Jakarta, Wednesday, July 5.

"The concrete role of ISMI is awaited in supporting the achievement of the targets of the halal ecosystem development program that prioritizes product halal quality and certification, strengthening intermediation financing, and strengthening community sharia economic literacy," said the Vice President as quoted by ANTARA.

The Vice President emphasized that ISMI as a forum for jihad for economic actors and Muslim entrepreneurs in the country must be able to maximize its contribution in joint efforts to realize Indonesia as the center of the world's leading halal producer. Ma'ruf Amin hopes that the 2023 ISMI International Business Gathering (Silabis) forum will be the means of exchanging the best ideas and practices, galleries for superior halal products, and business matching which produce concrete agreements.

Moreover, this International Silabis was attended by businessmen and stakeholders from various countries. The presence of a business delegation in Makassar City is also expected to strengthen the pace of the regional economy, spurring Makassar to develop into one of the hubs for the development of halal products in eastern Indonesia, which will support the strengthening of the sharia economy in the country through global collaboration," he explained.

The Vice President also said that domestically the development of the flagship sector of the Halal Value Chain which includes the agricultural sector, halal food and beverages, Muslim fashion, and Muslim-friendly tourism showed an increasing trend of 5.5 percent-on-year in the third quarter of 2022.

This figure is higher than the growth in the same period in 2021, which is 1.69 percentyear-on-year.

However, according to the Vice President, the achievement of the national sharia economy has not been optimal, which is marked by the low growth in Islamic businesses, the small share of Islamic financing, and the relatively small level of sharia economic literacy of the community.

Realizing this condition, said the Vice President, the government directed sharia economic development policies in three key programs, namely policies to develop a halal ecosystem that prioritized quality, policies to strengthen intermediation in financing and policies to strengthen Islamic economic and financial literacy.

In addition to the implementation of these three key programs, two crucial things that are also of concern are the use of digital technology to accelerate the growth of the Islamic economy and finance, as well as the synergy and collaboration of all stakeholders both at the central and regional levels, including Muslim entrepreneurs who are members of ISMI.