Tashkent, Uzbekistan - 13 November 2025 – The Director General of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), H.E. Ambassador Berik Aryn, participated in the 20th General Assembly of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), held in Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan. The event brought together high-level representatives of OIC Member States and institutions to discuss the advancement of standardization, metrology, and conformity assessment within the OIC framework.
During the Opening Ceremony, which was addressed by high-level dignitaries, including H.E. Dr. Saad Alkasabi, SMIIC Chairman of the Board of Directors, H.E. Eng. Nawaf Ibrahim Al-Mana, President of the GCC Standardization Organization, and H.E. Dr. Adel Al-Keaid, President of the Executive Committee of the Islamic Forum for Halal Accreditation Bodies (IFHAB), the Director General delivered a statement in which he underscored the importance of strengthening institutional collaboration among OIC organizations to achieve shared objectives in food security, trade, and quality assurance. He highlighted the strategic role of Uzbekistan, widely recognized as the food basket of Central Asia, in fostering regional cooperation and encouraged the country to further engage with IOFS to benefit from its diverse programmes. He also emphasized the need for enhanced IOFS–SMIIC cooperation in developing the Halal and food safety industries across OIC Member States, combining IOFS’s expertise in food systems and SMIIC’s leadership in standardization to promote a harmonized and competitive Halal food ecosystem.
On the margins of the event, the Director General held a bilateral meeting with the IFHAB President, H.E. Dr. Adel Alkeaid, during which the two sides discussed potential avenues for collaboration to strengthen Halal accreditation systems as a key enabler of food security and agri-food systems transformation across OIC Member States.
Later in the day, the Director General paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Muzaffar Madrahimov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, at his office. The meeting provided an opportunity to review the status of bilateral cooperation and to reiterate the long-standing invitation for Uzbekistan to consider joining the IOFS as a fully-fledged Member State. Such membership would enable Uzbekistan to benefit from the various initiatives and programmes under IOFS’s purview, while also strengthening regional collaboration in implementing, for instance, the Afghanistan Food Security Program (AFSP), and contributing with its extensive expertise to the collective efforts of OIC Member States in advancing the agendas of food security and agricultural development.
The Director General’s participation, assisted by Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, Chief Multilateral Relations Officer, in the 20th SMIIC General Assembly reaffirms the Organization’s commitment to continued collaboration with SMIIC, IFHAB, and other relevant OIC institutions to foster a Healthy, Halal, and Safe Food Ecosystem, advancing the shared vision of a food-secure and prosperous OIC geography.
