@Halal November/December 2020 | Page 31

The 2020 TPO Malaysia Regional Meeting was a tremendous success
november-december . 2020 | Glam Halal

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Useful meet-up

The 2020 TPO Malaysia Regional Meeting was a tremendous success
Poland to Stop Exporting Halal , Kosher Meats In 2025
Poland ’ s senate passed a law that will end its $ 1.8 billion kosher and halal meat export industry in 2025 . The law still allows religious communities such as Jews and Muslims to be able to slaughter meat without prior stunning , as is required by Jewish and Muslim law , as long as the meat is not for export purposes .
A vote last Wednesday approved the law that was introduced last month in the government ’ s lower house and was originally intended to go into effect in 2022 .
Poland has about 20,000 Jews and a similar number of Muslims . The bulk of its many kosher and halal slaughterhouses produce meat for export . Critics say that killing animals without stunning them is cruel ; proponents of the practice say it is relatively painless .
Polish farmer and meat producer unions successfully fought to have the law postponed in connection with the economic crisis brought on by the on-going Covid-19 pandemic .
Halal meat exporters in the country have also expressed disappointment over the legislation as the law is expected to severely impact their export businesses .

The annual TPO Malaysia Regional Meeting , one of the regional meetings of the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities based in Busan , South Korea which took place on Oct 21 , 2020 .

Jointly hosted with Taiping , a Co-President City of TPO , the Regional Meeting was a great success , with the mayors , heads of relevant bureaus , and working-level staff from six member cities , two non-member cities ( Batu Gajah and Manjung ) and five tourism-related organisations in Malaysia .
The 2020 TPO Malaysia Regional Meeting was aimed at seeking ways to achieve sustainable development of the tourism industry , which has taken a massive blow from the Covid-19 pandemic , sharing the plans of member cities to promote tourism in the post-Covid-19 era , and sharing opinions regarding TPO ’ s activities and new programmes and projects in 2020 .
The meeting kicked off with an opening address by TPO Secretary-General Dr Kim Soo-il and a welcome speech by Khariul Amir Mohamad Zubir , the Mayor of Taiping Municipality . After briefing about TPO activities in 2020 and new programmes and projects , member cities gave presentations and engaged in discussions during special sessions .
Session 1 was led by KT Pillai , the public speaker of Ipoh city , the member of Executive Committee member .
It started with the keynote speech on “ Managing Tourism amid Covid-19 : From the perspectives of Muslim-Friendly Hospitality
and Sustainable Practices ” by Datuk Mohmed Razip Hasan , the Director General of Islamic Tourism Center .
Case presentations on operating measures for the tourism industry amid Covid-19 by the representatives from Ipoh and Taiping followed .
Session 2 was a discussion of TPO ’ s plans for future activities as well as the TPO Tourism Network , which is a new project .
The discussion was led by Dr Kevin Lazarus , the director of Zoo Taiping and Night Safari Department of Taiping Municipality . Abdul Halim Saad , the mayor of Kampar district , introduced their tourism resources as the new member of TPO , and mentioned that he expected to have close cooperation with TPO members , especially the neighbouring big cities to efficiently promote their tourism products .
Zulqarnain Mohamad , the mayor of Kuala Kangsar showed great interest in TPO projects , including the new initiative “ TTN : TPO Tourism Network .” He believed this could help the city start the online promotion of the tourism products .
Furthermore , he said that this pandemic ironically brought the moment to prepare for a better tourism sector in the future , improving their infrastructure , facilities , etc .
The meeting ended with the closing remark from the Secretary-General of TPO . The presentation materials of the sessions can be found on TPO ’ s official website ( aptpo . org / eng ) and the video of the meeting can be seen on the YouTube channel , “ TPO Secretariat ”.
This pandemic ironically brought the moment to prepare for a better tourism sector in the future , improving their infrastructure , facilities , etc . – Zulqarnain Mohamad
Two Libyan banks establish units to serve SMEs with Shariah compliant financing
Two Libyan banks have formed special units within their institutions to support SMEs in the country with Islamic facilities .
Jumhouria Bank , which is the first Libyan bank to become member of The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions ( AAOIFI ), and Arab Commercial Bank ( ACB ), which is in the middle of converting into a fully-fledged Islamic bank , have both established their SME units , the European Union for the Private Sector of Libya ( EU4PSL ) confirmed .
Launched in 2019 by Expertise France , a French agency for international technical assistance , EU4PSL is a support program whose mandate includes connecting Libya ’ s private sector , particularly SMEs , with banks in the country for financing support .
The demand from the SME sector for shariah financing is high , and the current supply is unable to meet it , EU4PSL told Islamic Finance News ( IFN ). To fill this gap , the program engages banks with initiatives that help them understand the risk , processes and advantages of Islamic transactions .
ACB first confirmed its interest in building a partnership with SME business centers and incubators in Libya in July 2020 . At least four other Libyan banks are expected to establish similar SME-focused units . – IFN