The Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation  (COMCEC) has been conducting a financing mechanism since 2013 with the aims of increasing solidarity among member countries, establishing multilateral collaborations, and enhancing human and institutional capacity in member countries. As part of this mechanism, the project titled "2022-TURTRADE-068- Raising Awareness for Multilateral/Mutual Recognition According to OIC/SMIIC Halal Standards" has been implemented by our Agency. The first activity of this project, the "Workshop on the Mutual/Multilateral Recognition of Halal Certification Activities," took place on September 5-6, 2023, in Istanbul.
 
The workshop aimed to increase awareness about the harmonized accreditation system, share experiences of partner countries in the project, and identify and report on the barriers to multilateral/mutual recognition with contributions from the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC). Furthermore, the workshop aimed to contribute to the development of a common operational language within the SMIIC halal certification approach. Representatives from accreditation and standardization bodies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan as well as officials from SMIIC and COMCEC participated in the workshop.
 
During the workshop, participants were briefed on the activities of the HAK, the project and workshop objectives, the necessity and significance of common standards in halal certification, SMIIC's efforts in this field, and the groundwork led by the SMIIC Accreditation Council for multilateral/mutual recognition of halal certificates among countries. Additionally, detailed information was provided about the OIC/SMIIC3:2019- Requirements for Halal Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Halal Conformity Assessment Bodies, and Islamic Forum for Halal Accreditation Bodies (IFHAB) which will play an important role in the process of mutual recognition of halal certificates.
 
The project's second event, an international conference, is planned to be held on October 24, 2023, in Istanbul. It will be broadcasted live on appropriate platforms to emphasize the importance of common standards and accreditation-based recognition mechanisms in halal certification to relevant stakeholders.