BRUNE’s HALAL BRAND CREDENTIALS AND TOURISM

The Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources of Brunei made a pitch for investment in Brunei’s Halal Brand and eco-tourism during the opening of the 10th Congress of the Federation of World Hainanese Associations at the International Convention Centre in Berakas. He said that the current value of the halal food industry is estimated at US$150 billion. This gives tremendous business opportunities if it can be linked to Halal food processing. The estimated Muslim consumers of around 1.9 billion, is continually growing. In China alone, there are 20-25 million Muslims. The Deputy Minister assured that Brunei’s Halal Certification would be of the highest standards, attributed to the strong Islamic background of the nation. Dato Hamdillah, also in his capacity as the Chairman of Brunei Tourism Board, spoke about promoting Brunei Tourism. He said nature tourism or eco-tourism is another side of Brunei tourism as the country takes pride in its pristine rainforest that covers around 78 per cent of its land area. Brunei has committed 75 per cent of its rainforest to a joint project by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia to set aside 220,000 square kilometres of rainforest that possess a good number of unique plant and animal species.