Indonesia must keep up with Thailand since we are known as a country with the largest Muslim populationJakarta (ANTARA) - State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Deputy Minister Pahala Nugraha Mansury has said that the ministry wants Indonesia, through its halal culinary sector, to become the 'World Halal Kitchen'.
Thailand has claimed the 'World Halal Kitchen' tag with its halal industrial area project in Songkla and other major tourist cities, such as Phuket and Chiang Mai, for instance, he noted.
"Indonesia must keep up with Thailand since we are known as a country with the largest Muslim population. It will become our challenge to declare a vision as the 'World Halal Kitchen','" Mansury said.
To start with, a halal culinary ecosystem could be developed in Kauman Batik village, in Solo, Central Java, he suggested.
"We also want to develop the program in other areas so that halal industrial areas in Solo can become a model for halal tourism cities in the world," he added.
The Islamic economy has presented an opportunity worth trillions of US dollars, not only in Indonesia, but also globally, with the spending of Muslims globally reaching up to US$1.9 trillion, with 60 percent of the spending flowing into the food and beverage sector, Mansury said.
The food and beverage sector is one of the largest sectors in Indonesia and it contributes 36.4 percent to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), he pointed out.
This is a potential that must be tapped, starting with the halal culinary area in Kauman, Solo, Central Java, he said.
"Of course, we will develop this project in other cities since Indonesia has extraordinary culinary selections where there are around 5,300 authentic Indonesian foods that we hope we can develop into halal culinary. We also want to export our local dishes to other countries," he added.
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Translator: Aji Cakti, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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