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H.E. Maryam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security of the UAE paid an official visit to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

On June 11, Her Excellency Maryam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security of the United Arab Emirates visited Islamic Organization for Food Security (“IOFS”), the parent organization of the International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) where she met with the Director General of the IOFS, H.E. Mr. Yerlan Baidaulet and the Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan along with the operational staff of both entities.

During the visit of the Minister to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, an MoU was signed with the IOFS for wider cooperation and the parties discussed about supporting agricultural enterprises in the OIC countries through strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation in food security sector. The IOFS team presented its 16 programs which includes IFPA as a subsidiary of IOFS for the development of the private sector of B2B agri-food projects and investments as well as connecting exports with OIC markets. IFPA aims to work very closely with all key ecosystem players from the OIC markets including the UAE market which has huge pool of Islamic investors who are keen on agri-food projects of Kazakhstan.

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International IFPA and Kazakhstan Organic Production Union held a meeting to discuss cooperation in the field of halal organic products development

On June 10, International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) and the Kazakhstan Organic Production Union (“Union”) held a round table meeting to discuss development of organic agri-food in Kazakhstan especially concentrating on promoting Halal and organic together for sustainable development.

During the meeting H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, Director General and CEO of IFPA shared his vision on the organic agri-food sector combing some of the best practices and international standards with Islamic ethical principles for ensuring environmental sustainability. Organic agriculture has benefits for the environment, for farmers and for public health, as it sustains the fertility of soils and ecosystems, and rewards farmers with sustained benefits through the sales growth of organic production worldwide.

Mr. Arsen Kerimbekov, Director of the Union, highlighted the importance of the organic sector and noted that Kazakhstan has an extensive land area of one million unused hectares with unlimited potential for Halal organic agriculture, both in the production of dairy and meat and in the cultivation of organic crops. The Union comprises of 62 members and currently has combined 300,000 hectares of certified soil by EU standards.

Parties agreed to continue their mutual discussions to define the framework for future cooperation in the development of Halal organic agriculture through the establishment of a trusted organic guarantee system, organic production standards, technical regulation of control and certification and accreditation mechanism under the OIC umbrella of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (“IOFS”), which is the parent organization of IFPA, and in close coordination with the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (“SMIIC”).

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International IFPA and Farmers Association of Kazakhstan discussed prospects of future cooperation in agri-food sector

On June 10, International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) and the Farmers Association of Kazakhstan (“Association) held a virtual meeting with the participation of H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, Director General and CEO of IFPA, and Mr. Dairabayev Zhiguli, the Chairman of the Association. The online meeting was attended by the operational staff of the IFPA and representatives of the Association.

The parties presented their activities and discussed current issues and prospects for further cooperation in the agri-food sector especially with the Association’s wide reach across all the regions of Kazakhstan since 2003 with its membership consisting of 52,000 farmers. Particular attention was paid to the interaction of the entities in the sphere of new export market opportunities with IFPA potentially facilitating various structured Islamic financial and investment instruments for the farmers’ businesses for their continued stability and sustainability.

As the main platform of farmers in Kazakhstan, the Association  expressed its willingness for close cooperation with IFPA and the parties agreed to sign a mutual agreement whereby the Association will join IFPA as a valuable honorary member which will offer the opportunity to its members to have access to all privileges and benefits of IFPA as corporate members and the eligibility to receive IFPA’s special services in attracting Islamic investments and financing and the assistance to increase the volume of exports of the farmers belonging to the Association with penetration into 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as promoting and advocating forthe farmers’ rights, sharing advanced developments and industry know-how.