The upcoming 2nd Moscow Halal Expo, to be held from May 26 – 28, is the biggest Halal exhibition ever held in Russia both in terms of number of exponents and range of participants.
We spoke to the CEO of the organizing committee, Mr Rishad Allaberdiyev from Moscow International Halal Exhibition, on the rationale and intricacies of holding such a significant event for Muslims in Russia and the world over.
Rishad, could you tell us, how and when was the Moscow Halal Expo first conceived and what is the rationale of holding such an event?
Rishad Allaberdiyev
It was actually way back in year 2004 that the staff of the International Department, Russia Muftis Council (RMC) first mooted the idea to organize an event similar to the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), which is known throughout the world.
Given the fact that the number of Muslims in Russia is more than in Malaysia by over fifteen million, the organization of such an exhibition here is simply logical.
We took a few more years to finalise the details as we did not want a good idea such as this to be spoiled by poor execution. Haste in this case was inappropriate, since the project was completely new for Russians in general. The basic premise of organizing such an event was studied thoroughly when the RMC delegation visited several foreign Halal exhibitions. In addition, we were building our own experience by holding several interfaith exhibitions and various international forums in Moscow. We wanted the Moscow Halal Expo to be more than just simply a show of goods and services but also a complex arrangement of business and cultural programmes.
The other reason for the extended preparation period was the lack of the normative base for standardization of Halal goods and services in Russia. It was only towards the end of 2003 that a control mechanism over the production and trade of Halal products was finalized, or the Halal-PPT-RMC, the first edition of a national Russian Halal standard. Soon after, the first product certification was concluded with some of the local major manufacturers. In short, we needed to achieve a certain indicators of Halal industry in Russia before we can hold this exhibition. Apart of standardization of production technologies, it was also necessary for the business community to understand the principles of Islamic business.
As the Chief Executive Officer, how do you estimate the level of organization of the previous Moscow Halal Expo 2010 and what kind of expectations do you expect for this year?
Roundtable discussions and topical presentations are what sets MHE 2011 apart.
Despite the famous Russian proverb “The first pancake comes as a lump” or “you must spoil before you spin”, our pancake did turn out to be tasty and delicious, although it was not as large as compared with other international exhibitions such as ProdExpo, WorldFOOD or MIHAS.
Last year, we managed to gather in one place more than 60 companies or exponents of the Halal industry. The number of visitors, despite being held on weekdays, still exceeded 2,000 people. For an unknown exhibition, we consider this is as a very good indicator.
One of the biggest difficulties we faced was the fact that this is a new event. We are only at the stage of development when the credibility and authority are being earned both from participants and partners of the event. Primarily, it applies to foreign companies and organizations. We have to exert much effort to convey to foreigners about the existence of Halal industry in Russia; that this industry is growing rapidly along with the demand of the Russian consumers for Halal products and services, and therefore it is of interest to manufacturers and importers from abroad.
To your knowledge, what other countries hold similar events and are the format and themes of these exhibitions similar to the Moscow Halal Expo?
Exhibitions are held in many countries, the most famous are in Malaysia, France, Iran and Pakistan. Generally, the formats are similar: it is an area in a modern exhibition center, built-up with booths, where vendors present their products and services. At the same time, as a rule, there is a business programme, including forums and round tables. The subject of the exhibitions may vary: in some countries it is only food; in others, a wide range of products can be represented. The peculiarity of our exhibition is not only a presentation of goods and services that meet the norms of Islam, including tourism, publishing, education or the media industry, but we also conduct business forums with the topical issues about Islamic business and finance and the Halal industry.
Do you mark the features of Moscow Halal Expo and compare it to other international exhibitions, especially in terms of nature of exhibiting companies, the audience, scope, interest in the exhibition, etc.?
MHE is also about promoting local Russian companies producing Halal.
Over the past year the delegation with representatives of the organizing committee of Moscow Halal Expo participated in Halal exhibitions in Malaysia, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and at the Paris Halal Expo in France. Each exhibition has its own features and appeal. First and foremost, I would like to highlight that most of the exponents of each exhibition are the local producers, demonstrating their achievements in Halal production in their proper countries. At the same time, such countries as Iran, Turkey and Pakistan, where the tradition of Halal production is dominated and almost all the existing products and services, with few exceptions (for example, finance) are Halal, such exhibitions are not unique and appealing to local people. Rather, it is an attempt to position the country on the international market of Halal industry.
In this respect, Moscow Halal Exhibition is fundamentally different: the concept of Halal for Russian Muslims – both for businessmen and ordinary consumers – is new, close to the heart and eye-catching.
For many manufacturers of Halal products and services, it is essential to share experience with their countrymen, to learn about the world’s achievements, to showcase their products on all-Russian scale, to enable the customers and partners to get acquainted with Halal products and to express requests. For Russian Muslims, this exhibition is a holiday, just like any other event which takes place in Russia in accordance with the requirements of Islam. For us, it was a great pleasure to know that many people had attended the first exhibition with their families, visited the exhibition during all three days, and each person had found for himself an occupation according to his interests: business negotiations, tasting Halal products, introduction to Islamic financial instruments, acquaintance with the scientific community or just for normal networking.
Another uniqueness of Moscow Halal Expo is that it is of interest to foreign countries, especially for the members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Russia is a strategic region for developing trade and financial relations, and with the development of Halal industry it presents an open platform for the interaction with Islamic states.
What is included into the business programme of the event? How extensive it is?
The Business Programme of Moscow Halal Expo is designed for two days. On the first day after the opening ceremony and tour of the exhibition area, a Business Forum on Islamic Finance in Russia will be organised. Within the framework of the Forum, three sessions are scheduled: a presentation of investment projects, roundtable on “Practical issues in regulation of Islamic financial institutions and products” and the master class “Practice of Islamic business”.
Various types of sectors and producers are represented in MHE.
Russian scientists, the authors of patented developments in energy conservation and green technologies, the producers of Halal products (including farmers), the organizations, majoring in providing Islamic financial services, are invited to present their projects for investment. The projects of Muslim television and other services that are not inconsistent to Islamic morals will also be presented.
At the roundtable, practical issues for developing the Islamic financial system in non-Muslim countries will be discussed, along with the basics of regulatory framework of Islamic financing, such as the political, legal and economic aspects. The founders of Russia’s first Islamic financial institutions, and representatives of Islamic investment companies, Shariah experts, the organizers of the Sharia standards publications have been invited to participate in master classes.
On the second day, May 27, a Forum entitled “Halal-certification in Russia and abroad: progress and problems” will be held. The forum will discuss many topical issues in the Halal industry: from the characteristics of certification in various countries to the scientific developments in the Halal industry. Separately, a presentation of social projects in the field of charity will take place.
In the business programme segment, participation will not only be Russians but also foreign experts from Malaysia, Great Britain, Iran, Spain, Turkey, Pakistan, Republic of South Africa and other countries.
Who and how do one participate in the exhibition?
Any company or entrepreneur – both Russian and foreign – producing goods and services that are not in contradiction to the norms of Islam can participate in our exhibition. It is not necessary to get the Certification of Conformity on Halal at this moment (during the second exhibition). The participant’s sincere and honest declaration that his goods and services are Halal is sufficient for us. In the event that the committee has doubts towards the conformity of products or services to the requirements of Islam, we will conduct negotiations and we analyze in detail the company’s products and in case of finding out anything forbidden or questionable, we will ask the exponent to exclude such products from the list of exhibited goods.
We are confident that any manufacturer who will have found interest from the consumers, investors and partners towards his product with the help of our exhibition will appeal himself to the corresponding authorities in order to get this certification to promote further effectively his goods on the Halal market.
The Application Form can be submitted by e-mail to Moscow.Halal@gmail.com or by phone at +7 (495) 681-73-72.
By Ayshat Opieva
Public Relations Department, Russia Muftis Council
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