MALAYSIA'S HDC OUTLINES HALAL ECOSYSTEM KEYPOINTS FOR GLOBAL COLLABORATION

From Karina Imran

RIYADH, April 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia needs to establish bilateral agreements or Government-to-Government collaborations in the Halal sector with key countries, ensuring reciprocal economic benefits from promoted Halal sectors.

This is one of the key strategic connecting points within the Halal ecosystem to forge stronger ties between Malaysia and members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank, said Halal Development Corporation Bhd (HDC) chief executive officer Hairol Ariffein Sahari.

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“Each country has different sets of strengths, but of course, there will be similarities and common goals. So this is what we are going to define,” he told Bernama at the Halal Economy Leadership Forum 2024 in Riyadh.

He highlighted the importance of identifying specific sectors within the Halal ecosystem for collaboration, such as food, cosmetics, personal care, and medical devices, tailored to the strengths and goals of each country.

He noted that this would be an ongoing process, therefore Malaysia needs to identify the preferred partners and ensure mutual recognition among halal certification bodies, aligned with the standards set by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim). 

He said the partner country must have its own halal certification body and must be assisted in terms of increasing the capacity, capability, and competency to meet Jakim’s standards.  

“Once this is done, we can have a seamless process of certifying products from the partner countries, followed by cooperation between Halal economic development bodies like HDC and Halal economic development bodies in the partner country,” said Hairol Ariffein. 

With cooperation between Halal economic development organisations, he said Malaysia could facilitate linkages between business players in the Halal industry through business-to-business activities, trade expos and business conferences. 

Additionally, Malaysia could establish a connection between auxiliary services in the Halal industry, including supply chain services and economic zones, fostering strong partnerships and trust between nations, he said. 

“Once we have a substantial number of certified Halal companies and stock-keeping units of Halal products, supporting services will be very useful.

“Investors and investments will start coming in and this is what we are trying to achieve,” he said. 

Hairol Ariffein said the growing Halal industry could contribute to the Malaysian sustainable talent pool, and Malaysia --via HDC -- could potentially export its talent to other countries.

He also stressed the significance of attaining these objectives to ensure Malaysia reaches its target for the halal economy to contribute 11 per cent to its gross domestic product by 2030.

-- BERNAMA