RIYADH: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, also known as JAKIM, signed a memorandum of cooperation for mutual recognition of the halal certification of locally manufactured products.

The agreement was signed by SFDA CEO Dr. Hisham bin Saad Al-Jadhey and Jakim Director General Dr. Hakima Yusuf.

It also includes areas of cooperation on conformity assessment procedures, standard specifications, regulations for issuing halal certificates, and knowledge exchange in training, research and laboratory analysis of halal products.

Al-Jadhey said the agreement aims to standardize halal standards due to variances in specifications, with over 400 certificates worldwide.

He emphasized the importance of establishing a regulatory framework to improve the dependability of halal products for Muslims worldwide.

He said the Saudi Halal Center has been working for several years to establish a framework for a uniform international halal certification system, citing the signing of a memorandum of cooperation in this regard between the Kingdom and Morocco in October last year.