The 9th Halal Expo Dubai recently concluded at the Roda Al-Bustan Hotel on a successful note. A majority of the 100 exhibiting companies reported having brisk business with local and international trade visitors — part of the 4,000 people who came to the two-day business-to-business event.
Amina Ahmed Mohammed, chief executive of the Emirates International Accreditation Center (EIAC), officially opened the 9th Halal Expo Dubai, on Sept. 18. This was two days after Malaysia officially recognized the UAE’s “Halal Products Control System” national certificates and the national halal mark issued by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA), which will boost the UAE’s $20 billion annual halal imports.
“The Halal Expo Dubai provides a great opportunity to showcase and promote halal products across the world and I’m glad that this is happening in Dubai — which our government wants to promote as a global center for the halal economy,” said Mohammed.
She added: “We are increasingly receiving applications from halal accreditation bodies across the world and have already received applications from 65 of the 120 bodies and more than 1,000 halal products manufacturing plants. We have already certified 35 of the halal accreditation bodies and will complete the rest within the next few years — which will allow halal products to enter the UAE markets without any further hassles.”
More than 100 companies from 15 countries, including Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Spain, Pakistan, Switzerland, India, the UK, Brunei, Thailand, China and the UAE, participated in the show.
“This UAE-led initiative, a first of its kind in the Arab and Middle East, will open up export horizons to producers in the country, as well as export and re-export support to dozens of new markets, which is positively reflected on the support and encouragement of international industries, especially in the markets of East and South East Asia and the Australian continent, and also contributes to food security in the country,” said Abdullah Abdul Qader Al-Maeeni, director-general of ESMA.
Abdirahman M. Abdi, minister for fisheries and maritime resources, Somalia, said: “The fisheries sector of Somalia is estimated to be worth somewhere between $800 million to $1 billion ... This sector has a huge potential and we are participating at the expo to explore new opportunities through Dubai.”
Halal Expo 2017 successfully draws to a close
Halal Expo 2017 successfully draws to a close
Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet advances climate resilience in Bangladesh
The Jameel Observatory Climate Resilience Early Warning System Network, an initiative co-founded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Community Jameel to reinvent climate change adaptation in vulnerable communities into a proactive, integrated and evidence-based process, announced the launch of its Adaptation Fortress initiative, transforming existing cyclone shelters and providing protection from heat waves in Bangladesh for the first time.
The first Adaptation Fortress is under construction in Satkhira district, southwest Bangladesh. If this pilot is successful, the initiative will open a pathway, with additional funding, to scaling up to 1,250 Adaptation Fortresses providing heatwave relief to half a million of the region’s most vulnerable residents.
More than 30 million people live in southwestern Bangladesh. Between 2019 and 2021, including in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple cyclones hit the region, devastating land, homes and entire communities. The threats posed by climate change — rising sea levels and more extreme weather — mean that people living in this region are likely to face similar crises in the years ahead. In addition to cyclones, extreme heat is a growing threat, putting people at risk of dehydration and heatstroke. In 2024, the UN found that heat waves caused nationwide school closures for two weeks, with some schools closing for six to eight weeks due to the combined impact of heat waves and flooding.
In Bangladesh, the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet has used its mid-century climate projections and analysis of local human systems to design a pilot for a multi-purpose, multi-objective structure called an Adaptation Fortress.
By engaging extensively with local communities, the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, which includes among its partners BRAC, a global nongovernmental organization established in Bangladesh, is demonstrating a new model of climate adaptation that repurposes schools that are also cyclone shelters to serve as sanctuaries during extreme heat events.
The climate resilient shelter model is the first of its kind in Bangladesh and serves as a blueprint for infrastructure development across South Asia. Designed to protect the most vulnerable community members during government-declared heat emergencies, Adaptation Fortresses feature solar power generation and battery backup systems to ensure the shelter is resilient to outages during extreme heat conditions. The site also includes rainwater harvesting capacity and is designed so that excess energy generated when air conditioning is not in use is made available for community use.
Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel KBE, founder and chairman of Community Jameel, said: “The Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet’s construction of this first pilot Adaptation Fortress marks a milestone for Bangladesh and the region. It lays the foundation for a proactive response to cyclones and heat stress — emergencies that the team has projected will become frequent events, threatening the lives of millions in Bangladesh. By adapting infrastructure today, we are building the resilience needed for tomorrow.”
Professor Elfatih Eltahir, lead principal investigator of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, said: “Bangladesh built a vast network of cyclone shelters that have been effective in protecting vulnerable populations. For the first time the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet is introducing the concept of shelter from heat waves as well as cyclones in southwest Bangladesh. This integrated and proactive initiative will significantly improve climate resilience in a region with some of the highest risks from climate change.”
Dr. Deborah Campbell, executive director of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, said: “Bangladesh is getting hotter and will experience more frequent and severe heat waves, leaving many people very vulnerable to heat stress and lacking the resources to adapt. The Adaptation Fortress initiative will provide shelter for the most vulnerable community members in southwest Bangladesh and has the potential to serve as a model for similar proactive climate resilience infrastructure development across Bangladesh and South Asia.”
Dr. Md Liakath Ali, principal investigator of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet at BRAC, said: “BRAC is proud to partner with the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet in pioneering the Adaptation Fortress initiative, an important step toward protecting vulnerable communities from the growing risks of extreme heat in coastal Bangladesh. By transforming existing cyclone shelters into multi-purpose, climate-resilient infrastructure, we are demonstrating how locally grounded solutions can address emerging climate hazards while strengthening community well-being. Alongside the pilot, we are committed to engaging policy makers so that future heat and climate risks are integrated into national planning processes. The lessons from this initiative will not only support communities in the southwest, but also inform long-term, scalable strategies for resilience across the country.”
