President Jokowi Inaugurates Halal Park in Jakarta

President Jokowi inaugurates Halal Park, at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Senayan Complex, Jakarta, Tuesday (16/4). (Photo by: Rahmat/PR)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated Halal Park, located within the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Senayan Complex, Central Jakarta, Tuesday (16/4).

The Halal Park is an embryo of Halal District development that will also be built within the Complex. The Halal District will occupy 21,000 square meters land with an approximate of Rp250 billion investment.

In his address, President Jokowi said that the halal industry in the world as well as in Indonesia was developing so rapidly. He added that the projected demand for global halal products in 2019 reached US$3.7 trillion. Meanwhile, in 2013, the demand was at US$2 trillion. “There is enormous growth. Its growth reaches 9.5 percent,” he said.

As a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, President Jokowi is glad of the halal industry rapid development. According to the 2019 Global Muslim Travel Index, Indonesian halal tourism won its first place. “This is a great achievement,” the President said.

The President also mentioned a swift development of Sukuk (Islamic bonds). Only last month, the retail Sukuk SR-011 sold around Rp21 trillion. According to him, this trust needs to be maintained to attract new investors.

President Jokowi also said that in 2018, there were 140 million Muslim tours with online spending of US$35 billion. The number of world Muslim tourists continues to increase per year. In 2020, it is projected to reach 158 million people.

“This huge amount means that there is a market segment that must be worked on. Moreover, we are a country with the largest Muslim population in the world,” he said.

President Jokowi targeted that in 2019, the halal tourist visits to Indonesia will reach 5 million people or one-quarter of the total tourist target expected to come to Indonesia.

“The 42% target growth compared to the previous year is remarkable. This is also a very big leap, ” the President said, adding that, therefore, the halal tourism industry has been established as the leading sector, the main driver for the development of Indonesia’s halal industry.

The President also pointed to the Global Islamic Economic Report, which stated that Indonesia was the second place for the modest fashion sector and the Muslim fashion market value until 2020 was estimated at US$327 billion.

“These are very large numbers. Therefore, once again, this is our chance to use the available opportunity to market our halal products, “he said.

He also encouraged the resources integration by the Government, the state-owned enterprises (SoEs), the halal industry business players, and the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to promote Indonesia’s halal industry to the regional and world levels.

The Government, according to the President, designed Indonesia’s halal industry as an economic growth motor; youth creativity and productivity fields; and a source of welfare for the people. (FID/RAH/ES)

 
Translated by : Fairuzzamani Inayatillah
Edited by : Yuyu Mulyani