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International Islamic Food Processing Association signs two historic agreements with the Meet Union of Kazakhstan and the Republican Chamber of Angus Kazakhstan

          On June 21 2021, International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) held a meeting with the Executive Director of the Meet Union of Kazakhstan (“Union”) and also the Director of the Republican Chamber of Angus Kazakhstan (“Chamber”).

          Established in 2014, the Union involves more than 50 individual entrepreneurs and legal entities representing the meat industry of Kazakhstan. The Union aims to protect interests and cooperate in strengthening efforts for the dynamic development of the meat industry in Kazakhstan, while the Chamber was established in 2012 and embraces more than 150 members.

          During the meeting, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, Director General and CEO of IFPA, Mr. Askar Zhubatyrov, the Executive Director of the Union and Mr. Salykov Dauren, Director of the Chamberdiscussed the increase of meat quality and certification of the product, introduction of modern technologies and genetics to increase the profitability of the industry, global labelling of Kazakh meat as Halal and natural/organic products, certification of production, including for export, and other services supporting the work of the meat production and processing industry. The roundtable concluded with two signing ceremonies of the honorary membership agreement between IFPA and the Union and also between IFPA and the Chamber, reaffirming all parties’ confidence in thesegroundbreaking partnerships.

          Representatives of the Union and the Chamber expressed their interest in developing their partnerships with IFPA whereby the members of both the Union and the Chamber will join as corporate members to receive IFPA’s services in export support and attracting Islamic investments from the 57 OIC markets. These agreements also provide for facilitation of participation of members in all IFPA’s activities and for a joint forum to be organised later in the year exclusively for the members of the Union and the Chamber.

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International Islamic Food Processing Association and Kazakhstan Oil and Fat Union sign a Memorandum of Understanding

          On June 21 2021, International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA“) held a meeting with the representatives of Kazakhstan Oil and Fat Union (“Union“). During the latest meeting, the parties discussed in detail the prospects of cooperation and signed a mutual agreement to further advance bilateral cooperation. After the roundtable discussion, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, Director General and CEO of IFPA, and Mr. Konstantin Nevzorov, President of Kazakhstan Oil and Fat Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) for cooperation in oil and fat industry of Kazakhstan.

         This MoU reaffirms the trust the parties have in this partnership and defines the framework for future cooperation between the two entities. The agreement signifies each party’s advantage to support high-quality and sustainable development outcomes in one of the fastest growing and export-oriented industries of Kazakhstan with investments related to the use of Islamic finance, Shariah structuring, Sukuk listing and other Islamic investment products from the markets of the 57 Organization of Islamic Conference (“OIC”) countries.

          During the meeting Mr. Konstantin Nevzorov conducted a very informative and resourceful presentation about the activities of 25 leading enterprises of oil and fat industry, highlighting key facts of the Eurasian Economic Union (“EAEU”) technical regulations of distributing lands for oilseeds, providing detailed insights on value, volume and share of Kazakhstan’s oilseeds export by countries in 2020 as well as sharing investment projects. The President of the Union stated that “the Union will benefit from the expertise and access to markets of IFPA and will endeavour to work closely in developing a pragmatic and cooperative approach to solving the issues of the industry”. The Director General and CEO of IFPA remarked that “OIC markets have a huge appetite for value-added agri-food products of Kazakhstan and IFPA will work closely with the Union to develop the export potential of the oil and fat products, attract Islamic investments and assist the Union in tailoring the EAEU technical regulations for the OIC agri-food industry.”

          After the signing ceremony, the parties expressed their resolve and commitment to enhancingtheir level of cooperation with anticipated fruitful outcomes in new export markets of the OIC for the continued stability and sustainable development of the oil and fat enterprises under the Union’s umbrella.

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International Islamic Food Processing Association and the Union of Food Enterprises of Kazakhstan agree to develop their partnership

          On June 21 2021, International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) held a meeting with the Executive Director of the Union of Food Enterprises of Kazakhstan (“Union”).

          The Union is a non-profit organization established in 1992 by the leading operators of the food industry market of Kazakhstan that unites over 50 food companies, research and educational institutions and project entities of food and agriculture sectors. The Union’s mandate includes promotion, protection, and enhancement of entrepreneurship and innovation within the food industry, advocating interests of domestic food producers, exporters and retailers, consulting and expert assistance in the implementation of food safety HACCP standards, and participating in policy regulation of the food sector are all the main missions outlined in the Charter of the Union.

          The Executive Director of the Union, Ms. Marina Sabralieva as a Member of the Board of the Almaty Technological University – one of the leading universities of Kazakhstan that trains specialists and scientists for the food industry, shared that “the Union in cooperation with a number of research institutions conduct training on the food safety management systems, food supply chain processes, registration of certificates, requirements to the standards of packaging and labelling, transport and logistics measures for food entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan. The growing industry is now in need of miscellaneous food-related endeavours to advance its infrastructure and export potential. However, the industry is facing trade barriers and tariff restrictions that create adverse effects for the export of the agri-food productions”, noted Ms. Marina Sabralieva. In her opinion the solution lies in the Union’s cooperation with IFPA to create a single export coordination platform for all market participants.

          The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan noted that “IFPA is working to create a unique common platform for expanding cooperation between businesses and food companies and ensuring access to the markets of all OIC countries to increase the volume of mutual trade and food supplies and providing more options for finance, insurance and investments in agri-food projects. We see a huge potential for Kazakhstani private sector since it plays an important role in creating food security of the country”.

         The Director General and CEO of IFPA and the Executive Director of the Union expressed their mutual interests for closer cooperation and to jointly organize a special forum for the Union members. The parties resolved to sign an agreement very soon whereby the Association will join IFPA as a valuable honorary member.

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International Islamic Food Processing Association congratulates its Chair on being conferred with Honorary Professorship

     On June 21 2021, the Chair of the International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA”) and the Director General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (“IOFS”), H.E. Yerlan A. Baidaulet was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University.  The outstanding ceremony took place at the University’s main offices during the working visit of the IOFS Director General to key entities of the JSC NASEC located in the city of Almaty in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

          Upon the University Senate’s decision, the First Deputy Chairman of the Board, Mr. Kanat Tireuov presented the Director General of IOFS the diploma, medal and mantle of the Honorary Professorship and noted the active and fruitful cooperation between the IOFS and the University.

          After the solemn presentation of the mantle, the Director General of IOFS H.E. Yerlan A. Baidaulet thanked the University for the respect shown, noting that “it is a great honor for him and a sign of recognition for the entire team of the IOFS Secretariat”.

     The Director General and CEO of IFPA, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan remarked that “the entire family of IFPA and indeed the IOFS are immensely proud of this great accolade and we congratulate our Chair and the Director General of IOFS for a well-deserved recognition. It is a great reward for all the hard work done by the IOFS and its subsidiary IFPA under the leadership of the Director General of IOFS. We are looking forward to celebrating this achievement and continuing the upward trajectory of our result-oriented services for intra-OIC agri-food sector trade and investment development”.