Vice President Ma'ruf Amin Hopes ICCIA Encourages World Sharia Economic Development

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma’ruf Amin hopes that the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA), as an organization affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OKI), can encourage collaboration in Islamic economic development at the world level. "We ask the ICCIA to take a bigger role in encouraging collaboration, synergizing Islamic economic and financial development in OIC countries,” he said when receiving ICCIA Secretary General Yousef Hasan Khalawi in Jakarta, Thursday 8 September. In the approximately 40-minute meeting, he explained Indonesia's various steps in developing a sharia economy coordinated by the Sharia Economics and Finance Committee (KNEKS). One of the strategic steps taken is to build the areas of the halal industry that are opened as wide as possible for investors from Muslim-majority countries. "We hope that investors from various Islamic countries, perhaps initiated by ICCIA, will invest, especially in the halal industrial areas that we have built," he said, quoted by Antara. He welcomed the idea of the ICCIA to establish business centers and investments in countries of large Muslim population. According to him, this right needs to be supported by standardization of halal certification in order to facilitate the export process and import halal products. "We also hope that in the future exports of halal products will not be constrained, so that there will be standardization of halal certificates. So that it does not become an obstacle, so that it is initiated that each other recognizes the certificate," he said. On the same occasion, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin asked the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), as an important partner of ICCIA, to take a strategic role in the international forums initiated by the organization so that Indonesia can become a leader, not just participants. "So that Indonesia is ready, not only to participate, it is also ready to be handed over by the leadership. I think Indonesia is also ready to take on a big role," he explained. ICCIA Secretary General Yousef Hasan Khalawi said Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population and has enormous potential to develop the Islamic economy and become an international player. One of the big ideas of ICCIA, he said, is to develop 10 business sector hubs throughout the Muslim world, including Indonesia, which has product efficacy, respectively. "The potential for major Muslim countries, such as Indonesia, Turkey, Nigeria, is unlimited. We have confidence that we can develop these three countries and other countries," he explained.