The Halal World Expo Forum, running alongside the Halal World Expo which opened today, provided visitors with an informative session on UAE rules and regulations for Halal accreditation abroad, led by Dr Abdulla S Ruwaida, public health and environment consultant for the UAE General Secretariat of Municipalities.

Later in the day there was a discussion on Halal control measures in Bahrain, as well as a crucial platform for discussing possible global Halal certification led by Darhim Bin Hashim, CEO of the International Halal Integrity Alliance Ltd.

Islamic finance took centre-stage in the afternoon forum, with well-attended presentations by NBD Capital and the Gisba Group.

The second edition of Halal World Expo 2008 features over 50 exhibitors from countries across the globe, including Brunei, Kuwait, Malawi, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Palestine, Philippines, Turkey, UAE, the UK, the USA and Serbia.

Organised by IIR Middle East and taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the three-day event is bringing together major players in the $2.1 trillion global Halal industry.

The Expo also features Shari’ah compliant lifestyle products, including fashion, hospitality management, publishing, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

The exhibition also gives a strong focus to Islamic finance, currently worth between $200-$500 billion annually and showing notable resilience in the face of the recent global downturn.-TradeArabia News Service