The Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), a multilateral body of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), signed a collaboration agreement with Dubai-based SalaamGateway, the largest Islamic economy business news and insights media platform, to promote a series of food security awareness initiatives across the global halal industry.

The collaboration agreement was signed by His Excellency Yerlan Baidaulet, Director General of IOFS and Rafiuddin Shikoh, CEO and Managing Director of DinarStandard, strategic partners of DIEDC, in the presence of Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), and Sheikh Bilal Khan, the Director General and CEO of the International Islamic Food Processing Association (IFPA), the private-sector engagement arm of IOFS.

His Excellency Yerlan Baidaulet said: “Many of the developed OIC economies are highly food import dependent, with an estimated net food trade deficit of US$65 billion in 2019. On the other hand, among the least developed members of the OIC, there is also acute food malnutrition and hunger affecting 64.8 million people in 2018. Given these variations, our collaboration with SalaamGateway is critical in building awareness across OIC countries’ food security stakeholders: government agencies, corporates, investors and other ecosystem players, of both the challenges and practical solutions to these challenges.”

For his part, Rafiuddin Shikoh said: “Coupled with DinarStandard’s research-based insights, SalaamGateway’s reach positions it as an ideal platform to drive the food security awareness initiatives. With feature news on the halal industry, Islamic finance, and the Islamic lifestyle, the portal has become a credible source for news and updates in the Islamic economy field across markets.”

Witnessing the agreement signing, Abdulla Al Awar said: “We are confident in the potential of this collaboration between SalaamGateway and IOFS to address the critical topic of food security, which many governments across the globe are dealing with. Post-covid-19 supply chain disruptions, affecting the halal and non-halal industries alike, require innovative solutions based on actionable insights, which this agreement can strongly contribute to.”

IOFS, an official multi-lateral body representing OIC member countries, is driving a mission of ensuring sustainable food security across its 57 member states. Its current 16 initiatives are across five dimensions of development of strategic commodities, establishing food security reserves, technology and innovation, private-sector partnerships, and humanitarian programs.

DIEDC had launched the SalaamGateway portal in 2015, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to drive global Islamic economy knowledge development.

SalaamGateway, with its leading coverage of the US$2.02 trillion global Islamic economy (State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2020/21) presents IOFS with a key platform to highlight food security related challenges and opportunities for the halal industry. The agreement is a result of an ongoing discussion on strategic collaboration between Salaam Gateway and IOFS in areas where both entities share common social impact development goals.