From February 25 to March 1, 2019, Aydar Gazizov, general director of the International Centre for Halal Certification and Standardization, and Kurban Abakarov, Deputy Head of the Legal Department, leading expert auditor, participated in a training course held at the Higher School of Economics. The course was conducted within the framework of the advanced training program “Challenges of development of the halal export industry in Russia: terminology, requirements, standards. Assessment of compliance with halal standards”.

It was the first time that leading experts from the International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), namely IHAF General Secretary Mohammed Badri (UAE), IHAF General Secretary Advisor Farah Alzaruni (UAE) and a leading European expert auditor Belgi Aseklar (Turkey) conducted such a training in Russia.

At the first training stage the students had to independently study IHAF materials translated into Russian, which were available on the educational platform of the national accreditation system. The second stage of the advanced training program was conducted by the National Accrediting Institute Rosakkreditatsia in cooperation with HSE.

Alexey Khersontsev, head of Rosakkreditatsia, and Andrei Klimenko, Director of the Public and Municipal Management Department of the Higher School of Economics addressed the audience with a welcoming speech.

In his speech, Alexei Khersontsev noted the importance of the advanced training program for the application of Halal standards for promoting the export of Russian goods and services within the framework of the “International Cooperation and Export” project.

“The Halal system is based on religious traditions.  Its safety requirements are even higher here than the requirements of legally established security systems,” said Alexey Khersontsev.

It should be noted that since the program focused on the training of specialists in order to establish necessary conditions for a higher export potential of Russia, great attention was paid to developing the necessary practical skills of participants.

On the final training day, Aydar Gazizov addressed the organizers and participants of the educational program with a welcoming speech on behalf of the Chairman of the Russian Muftis Council and the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, and familiarized them with the work of the RMC related to halal products and services.

Aydar Gazizov and Kurban Abakarov were given certificates of IHAF training participants.