Remarks of President Joko Widodo at the Halal Park Inauguration on 16 April 2019 at the Bung Karno Sports Complex (GBK), Senayan, Central Jakarta, Jakarta Province

Unofficial English Translation 

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Alhamdulillahirrabbilalamin,                                                                                                                                                          wassalatu wassalamu ‘ala ashrifil anbiya i wal-mursalin,
Sayyidina wa habibina wa syafiina wa maulana Muhammaddin,
wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in amma ba’du.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The halal industries in the world as well as in Indonesia are growing so fast. I have received information that the projected demand for global halal products in 2019 reaches US$3.7 trillion. Whereas, in 2013, the demand was at US$2 trillion. What does it mean? There is an enormous growth. The growth reaches 9.5 percent. This is a very high growth.

Alhamdulillah, as a country with the largest muslim population in the world, the development of halal industry is very rapid. According to the 2019 Global Muslim Travel Index, Indonesian halal tourism has won the first place. This is a great achievement. The news has just been announced. Our Sukuk (Islamic bonds) also develops rapidly. Last month, the retail Sukuk SR-011 sold around Rp21 trillion. This is a trust that needs to be maintained to attract new investors.

In 2018, there were 140 million Muslim tourists with online spending of US$35 billion. The number of global Muslim tourists continues to increase per year, and in 2020, it is projected to reach 158 million people. This amount is enormous. That means there is a market segment that must be worked on, moreover, we are a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

In 2019, it is our target that halal tourism visitors to Indonesia will reach 5 million people. This is one-quarter of the total number of tourists expected to come to Indonesia. And this target grows, this is remarkable, it grows to 42 percent compared to the previous year. This is also a very big leap.

Therefore, the halal tourism industry has been set as the leading sector, the main driver for the development of our halal industry. From this point on, the rest will follow.

According to the Global Islamic Economic Report, Indonesia is at the second place for the modest fashion sector. The global Muslim fashion market value up to 2020 is estimated at US$ 327 billion. These are very large numbers. Therefore, once again, this is our chance to use the available opportunities to market our halal products.

Today, this is something that we have started, Halal Park, as an embryo of the development of Halal District which will also be built here later. I have received information that approximately 21,000 square meters of the building and its space will be built here, and the value of the building investment reaches Rp250 billion. This is not a sudden move. Ms. Diajeng has stated that we have discussed this in one, two, or three meetings at the Palace. This is a realization. We integrate resources owned by the Government, the State-owned Enterprises (SoEs), the halal industry business players, and the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). We combine all the forces to promote Indonesia’s halal industry to the regional and world levels. We promote  Indonesia’s halal industry as the generator of economic growth.  We promote Indonesia’s halal industry as a sector of creativity and productivity of our youth. We promote Indonesia’s halal industry as a source of people’s welfare.

I conclude my remarks in this good opportunity. By saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, today, I hereby inaugurate Halal Park Indonesia.

Thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.(Public Relation Division of Cabinet Secretariat)(FI-SA/AW/YM/Naster)