3-day Sarajevo Halal Fair all set to kick off Thursday

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia

The Sarajevo Halal Fair (SHF), an international halal industry exhibition, is preparing to open its doors for the first time in the Bosnian capital on Thursday.

Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner for the three-day event organized by Bosna Bank International (BBI).

The SHF which will be held for the first time in Sarajevo expects to host around 100 exhibitors from 36 countries.

In the official opening of the fair on Thursday, Denis Zvizdic, President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country's top mufti Husein Kavazovic are expected to hold keynote speeches.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is expected to deliver a speech via video conference.

On the second day, chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bakir Izetbegovic will visit the fair.

On the last day of the fair, Sarajevo Halal Fair Award will be given to the most successful participants.

The fair will enable the participants from the Balkan countries, including Serbia, Slovenia and Albania, as well as from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and the EU countries to introduce halal food products.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 90 firms have halal food certificates, while more than 130 producers and over 7,000 products have halal food certificates in the region, according to Damir Alihodzic, the head of Agency for Halal Quality Certification.