TAITRA launches first Halal Taiwan Week

The first Halal Taiwan Week event was held virtually on September 14 at 2 p.m. Taipei time and was broadcast live online, drawing interest in the Philippines and globally.

At the opening of the first Halal Taiwan Week event were (from left): Mr. Hassan Hussein, Head of Economic and Commercial Affairs of Somaliland Representative Office in Taiwan; Mr. Al Fadil Adam, Deputy Representative of Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre, Taipei; Mr. Ibrahim A. Ahmed, Trade Commissioner of Nigeria Trade Office in Taiwan; Mr. Khairur Rizal Abdul Majid, Representative of Brunei Darussalam Trade and Tourism Office in Taipei; Ms. Leonor Lin, President & CEO of TAITRA; Mr. Guann-Jyh Lee, Deputy Director General of Bureau of Foreign Trade; Dr. Nabeel Al-Tel, Director of the Jordanian Commercial Office; Mr. Muhammed Berdibek, Representative of Turkish Trade Office in Taipei; Mr. Sulistyono, Director of Trade Department, Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei; and Mr. Pao-Sing Wang, Chairman of Taipei Grand Mosque.

Launched by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the three-day event aims to advertise Taiwanese firms and introduce a Muslim-friendly environment in Taiwan with a series of activities.

They include an online International Halal Industry Webinar, one-on-one online Business Matchmaking, and an online show of Halal products.

Online Halal Taiwan Week kicked off with a livestreamed opening ceremony and online International Halal Industry Webinar. Participants were welcomed by TAITRA President and CEO Leonor Lin and Guann-Jyh Lee, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The following notable speakers were also invited: Mr. Fazal Bahardeen, the founder and CEO of CrescentRating; Prof. Dr. Faridah Hj Hassan, Deputy President of World Academy of Islamic Management; Dr. Ibrahim Oreagba, Chairman of the Halal Certification Authority Nigeria; and a sales representative from Camangi Corporation, the first textile company that obtained Halal certification in Taiwan.

During the event, the online website will showcase more than 60 premium Halal products suppliers from Taiwan. This event is expected to garner the attention of over 400 businesses from several countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, UAE, Turkey, and some African countries. More than 50 online business matching meetings will also be held.

The online show will be running for one month until the end of October and is available at https://halaltaiwanweek.taiwantrade.com/.

In April 2017, TAITRA was entrusted by the government to set up the Taiwan Halal Centre and help promote the Taiwanese Halal industry.

After many efforts, Taiwan’s Muslim tourism-friendly image has hit a record high. This year, it was ranked second among all non-Organization for Islamic Cooperation (non-OIC) countries in terms of Muslim-friendly travel in the “Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI).” Taiwan tied the United Kingdom in second place and trailed only Singapore.

The survey provided some exciting news for Taiwan's tourism industry amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on how Taiwan has weathered the ongoing pandemic, please visit: https://www.anticovid19tw.org.