Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey, Mrs. Ruhsar Pekcan and the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Mikayil Cabbarov signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Ankara on February 19^th, 2021 regarding cooperation in the field of halal accreditation between the Halal Accreditation Agency (HAK) and the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

It is obvious that there is a fragmented structure among Muslim countries regarding the halal documents that shall be obtained via meeting the requirements relevant with fiqh and science. Different halal standards and certification systems at the global level sometimes appear as an obstacle. The way to increase the reliability and validity of these documents is to make a harmonized accreditation mechanism to be prevailed.

In this regard, the HAK, which was established as an indication of the importance attached to this subject by Turkey, has also signed a cooperation agreement with Azerbaijan after two other friend and brother countries, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. With this Agreement, an important step was taken towards the creation of a common and harmonious language among Muslim countries.

We are very pleased that training and technical cooperation in the field of halal quality infrastructure will begin between the two countries within the framework of the agreement that is signed with our friend and brother, Azerbaijan.

The HAK, receiving halal accreditation applications from 38 certification bodies from 17 different countries (Turkey, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Lithuania, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Brazil, India, Taiwan and Japan) within a period of only 1.5 years since the beginning of its acceptance of accreditation applications and having more than 425 halal certificates within the scope of its accreditation, will share its experience and knowledge with the relevant institutions of Azerbaijan, and will continue to support Azerbaijan's activities regarding halal quality infrastructure. The HAK will also continue its efforts to bring in halal accreditation status to certification bodies in Azerbaijan.