Pakistan, UAE to sign agreement on export of halal products ‘very soon’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been working on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the export of halal products to the UAE that will be signed “very soon,” a senior official at the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) said on Friday.
The consensus was reached between Pakistani Science and Technology Minister Shibli Faraz and UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi at a meeting held in Islamabad earlier this week. The MoU will be signed between Pakistan’s PNAC and the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA).
“We have already started work on the draft of the MoU and it will be signed very soon after approval of the draft from both countries,” PNAC Director-General Ismat Gul Khattak told Arab News.
“Both sides were very keen to process it as soon as possible,” she said, adding that she received a call from ESMA to discuss further details shortly after the meeting between Faraz and the UAE ambassador.
The main requirement of the UAE was that the products should strictly comply with their halal certification standards, she said.
“We have a very good system and our certification already fulfilled their maximum requirements,” Khattak said. “So, we are hopeful that through this MoU, all regulatory requirements will be fulfilled and trade of halal products will substantially increase between two countries.”
After this MoU, she said, Pakistan would also approach other Gulf cooperation countries since they had almost similar requirements.
Ambassador Al-Zaabi said the UAE and Pakistan were celebrating the golden jubilee of their fraternal ties with an increased focus on promoting trade, human development, tourism and regional peace.
“The UAE is keen to develop partnership with the Pakistan in many fields, especially the science and technology sector, as the UAE leadership is confident about the economic and technological potential of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he told Arab News.
“The government of UAE reaffirms its enduring support to Pakistan in promoting innovation, scientific research and agri-development to create sustainable opportunities for our future generations.”
According to the draft of the MoU seen by Arab News, PNAC would provide accreditation to halal certification bodies in Pakistan in accordance with the UAE’s 2055-2 and relevant ISO 17,000 standards.
Other salient features of the MoU include PNAC giving ESMA, if requested, the reports and certification documents regarding halal certification odors accredited in the scheme.
PNAC would send invoices about its accreditation activities to the Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) according to its price policy and nothing would be charged by ESMA for activities included in this bilateral recognition arrangement, including training or peer evaluation activities.
The draft said PNAC would notify ESMA of the halal certification bodies accredited by it to complete their registration in the ESMA database.
ESMA would also provide training to PNAC staff according to UAE’s 2055-2 standards and recognize products certified by PNAC-accredited bodies based on UAE requirements.

Pakistan, UAE to sign agreement on export of halal products ‘very soon’