Vice President Ma'aruf Amin Scheduled To Open Minangkabau Halal Festival 2023

The Governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi, when socializing the implementation of the Minangkabau Halal Festival 2023. (ANTARA/Miko Elfisha)

PADANG - Vice President Ma'aruf Amin is scheduled to open the Minangkabau Halal Festival 2023 which is centered at the Padang State University Auditorium on September 8-10, 2023.

"The latest information from Vice President Ma'aruf Amin will open a national event as an effort to encourage West Sumatra as a halal industry in Indonesia," said West Sumatra Governor Mahyeldi in Padang as reported by ANTARA, Monday, September 4.

He said that since the beginning the Vice President's support to make West Sumatra the center of the halal industry had been felt. This is because West Sumatra is considered to have the right climate to develop this.

"A total of 98 percent of West Sumatra residents are Muslims, besides that West Sumatra also has Falsafah Adat Basandi Syarak, Syak Basangdi Kitabullah which is accommodated in the Law on West Sumatra Province. West Sumatra also has a regional regulation on Halal Tourism," he said.

He said the number of national and international events regarding the halal industry being held in the province, including the Minangkabau Halal Festival 2023, was one proof of the government's efforts to accelerate West Sumatra as the center of the halal industry in Indonesia starting to show results.

"We hope that this event will also increase public awareness, especially business actors, the importance of halal products as evidenced by halal certification," he said.

Meanwhile, representative of the Minangkabau Event Organizer Festival Halal 2023, Fitria Rahma said the event would focus on expo activities or trade exhibitions.

"There are 134 MSMEs that have registered in this event. Most of them are MSMEs from West Sumatra, but some are from outside West Sumatra," he said.

The festival will also carry out socialization and halal certification for MSME products in West Sumatra for free. The certification involved a certification agency from UNP and involved the West Sumatra Cooperatives and SMEs Service.

He also targets that with a series of Minangkabau Festival Halal 2023 activities, West Sumatra MSME products not only have local markets in West Sumatra but can also enter the national and even international markets.

The event is also planned to be attended by SOE Minister Erick Thohir and Minister of Cooperatives and MSMEs Teten Masduki.