'Comply with Halal International Standards to access lucrative Gulf States' market'

Ugandans have been asked to strictly conform to the International Halal Standards to access the lucrative market in the Gulf States.

Halal standards refer to food and related products and drinks permitted for consumption in the Islamic faith.

The standards include acquiring a Halal Certification that confirms traceability of complete supply chain of food and other food products from farm to fork. 

The process covers ingredient verification along with the evaluation of storage, production, packaging, transportation and distribution processes.

The Halal Assurance Institute Uganda (HAIU), which ensures that all products comply with maximum hygienic and humanitarian standards required by Islamic dietary laws, has started engaging with their counterparts, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Accreditation Centre, to enable Ugandan exporters to access the market.

It, however, states that compliance with the Halal International Standards was key in this endeavour. 

The GCC countries include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Yemen.

In their recent meetings with their counterparts, the Ugandan team, led by the HAIU executive director, Ali Kalema, expressed confidence that their discussions would bear fruit and open doors for Ugandan and East African traders who meet the required standards to soon start exporting products to the Gulf States. 

The meetings were at the Uganda embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia and at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Accreditation Centre (GAC) head office at 3310 Aladeem Street in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh.

The discussions were attended by Uganda’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Isaac Biruma Sebulime and his deputy, Sheikh Sulaiman Guggwa, on the Ugandan side and Eng. Moteb Al-Mozeni, director general of the GCC Accreditation Centre, led his team. 

According to Kalema, the discussions concentrated on exploring avenues for promoting Ugandan products in the Middle East and GCC markets, aiming at diversifying the country’s export base and strengthening economic ties in the region.

He said that top on the agenda was enhancing collaboration between GAC and Halal Certification Bodies (HCBs) to ensure observance of the Halal standards as set by the GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO).

The discussions were attended by Uganda’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Isaac Biruma Sebulime and his deputy, Sheikh Sulaiman Guggwa, on the Ugandan side and Eng. Moteb Al-Mozeni, director general of the GCC Accreditation Centre, led his team. (Courtesy Photo)

Among other things, according to Kalema, their engagements underscored the GAC’s commitment to supporting Halal certification bodies through what he termed as “a structured approach”, which would involve training and capacity building, which will offer workshops and seminars to improve understanding of GCC Halal standards and accreditation criteria.

On their side, GAC committed itself to always providing pre-assessment support by helping certification bodies identify and address compliance gaps ahead of formal evaluations.

In a statement after their discussions, Kalema noted that on their side, they ensure that they collaborate with GAC in building trust and credibility of Halal certifications from Uganda and East African region.

Among other things, he said, HAIU ensure coordination, auditing assessments and the issuance of twin certificates or shipment permits to enable exporters to meet international Halal requirements.

“We aim at creating strong partnerships that will help us to enhance compliance with the required standards, facilitate market access, and boost the global competitiveness of certified products from our region,” he explained.

He committed to ensuring that HAIU monitors and strengthens its inspection and continuous checks using well-trained inspectors.

The embassy welcomed the engagements, stating that they will facilitate the recognition of Uganda’s Halal certification and quality standards as well as strengthen economic ties with GCC. 

During these engagements, the embassy signed a number of bilateral agreements and Trade Mutual Recognition Agreements with the GCC Accreditation Centre.

Ambassador Sebulime signed on behalf of the embassy while Eng. Moteb Al-Mezani, the director general of GCC Accreditation Centre signed on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

The agreements, according to the ambassador, will facilitate the recognition of Uganda’s Halal certification and quality standards across GCC countries, as well as accelerate Uganda’s market access to the Gulf region.

He believes that building trust in Uganda’s regulatory and quality assurance systems will be crucial for ensuring long-term trade sustainability.

According to the ambassador, the ongoing engagements point to a broader diplomatic and economic vision of positioning Uganda as a reliable supplier of high-quality agricultural products to international markets.

Eng. Moteb Al-Mezani welcomed Uganda’s hands-on engagement and reaffirmed the GCC Accreditation Centre’s willingness to support Uganda in aligning its Halal certification and quality systems with their standards.

He pledged that they would support in areas of training, assessments, and capacity building for Ugandan Halal Certification Bodies. This, he said, would ensure consistency and compliance with international expectations.