The Central Leadership Council of the Indonesian Islamic Economists Association (IAEI) together with Bank Indonesia and the IAEI DKI Jakarta Regional Leadership Council held an International Seminar with the theme “Optimizing the Global Halal Industry Ecosystem Leveraging Research and Innovation for Resilient Economic Growth,” on Thursday (31/10) at the Merak Room, Jakarta Convention Center. This seminar agenda is part of Bank Indonesia's Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) series.
The halal industry is not only a symbol of Muslim identity, but also one of the drivers of global economic growth. Innovation and research can optimize the potential of the halal industry, which not only provides economic impact, but also sustainable social impact for the wider community.
“To maximize this opportunity, the challenges that must be faced include optimizing the halal industry ecosystem through multidisciplinary collaboration, more in-depth market research, and sustainable and competitive innovation,” said Riyanto Sofyan, Chair of the IAEI Halal Industry and Creative Economy Development Division.
Rifki Ismal, Director of the Department of Sharia Economics and Finance at Bank Indonesia, explained the importance of exporting halal products. Currently, halal product exports are still targeting Middle Eastern or OIC countries, and need to target other countries, such as Somalia, Africa. Digitalization is key in marketing halal products. Digitalization carried out by BI from the payment side, namely in the form of single currency cooperation.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman III of IAEI, Susiwijono said, until now the word “potential” is still dominant and there have not been many achievements in practice in the halal industry. “Like the inauguration of the Halal Special Economic Zone (SEZ), only one area was finally inaugurated because it is still difficult to develop halal SEZs,” Susiwijono said.
Prof. Dr. Irwandi Jaswir, Chairman of DPW IAEI Malaysia, said Indonesia needs to focus on research development if it wants to advance the halal industry, especially a superior supply chain in Indonesia. The research carried out should not be arbitrary, it must prioritize solutions to industry problems. The government, experts, and industry players must see the halal industry as a new business opportunity if they want to advance it, which also has the potential to improve the national economy.
Meanwhile, M. Rizky Rizaldy, M.Sc., Chairman of DPW IAEI United Kingdom, emphasized the role of institutions in teaching methodological thinking to answer the problem of the lack of halal industry literacy index. One of the ways is by turning research results into a light language-style writing so that it is easy to read by the public. The use of AI 'artificial intelligence' is also very helpful in turning research into products. For example, helping to find ideas for writing or social media content to attract audiences to literacy.
Mahardhika Berliandaldo, S.E., M.M., Deputy for Strategic Policy at the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, also highlighted the role of social media in developing Indonesia's halal tourism. The community needs to be active in broadcasting the beauty of local tourism and culture to a wide audience, especially foreign tourists. Changing the focus of tourism development from quantity to quality.
Increasing the halal industry can be achieved if the government, experts, industry players, and stakeholders work together in promoting research related to answers to the problems of halal industry players. Research must be demanded to be an innovation. Intensive training and periodic education to the public is needed to convey the results of research. If this effort is optimally achieved, the urgency of the Indonesian halal industry will be resolved. The national economy will increase rapidly.
Through this forum, it is hoped that there will be synergy between stakeholders, including the government, academics, practitioners, and the private sector, to realize its vision as the center of the world's Islamic economy and finance, which is able to have a positive impact on the welfare of society, through the development of the halal industry.
