Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Vietnam is a highly promising Halal partner and could become a strategic springboard for the Halal industry to gain deeper access to the Mekong and Indochina regions, Chairman of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) Reezal Merican Naina Merican has said.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the 22nd Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS 2026) in Kuala Lumpur, Merican said that with a population of more than 100 million and an impressive pace of modernisation and economic transformation, Vietnam is considered an important destination in the global Halal value chain.
According to the MATRADE Chairman, while Malaysia regards Vietnam as a friendly competitor with strong export capacity and one of the leading trading economies in ASEAN, it is fully committed to building a mutually beneficial environment for cooperation.
Vietnam’s Halal certification authority has established direct cooperation with Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM). The strategic cooperation is expected to be strengthened through government-to-government (G2G) cooperation as a foundation, before expanding into business-to-business (B2B) linkages, thereby helping Vietnamese businesses to participate more deeply in the international Halal ecosystem.
MIHAS 2026 is expected to attract around 50,000 visitors from 45 countries, with 1,700 exhibitors and 2,000 booths. The event aims to generate total trade transactions worth 5 billion MYR (approximately 1.24 billion USD) through its exhibition and business-matching activities.
On broader trends, Merican said the global Halal economy is currently valued at around 3.5 trillion USD and is projected to grow rapidly to nearly 10 trillion USD by 2030. Today, Halal represents a global standard for safety, hygiene, authenticity and sustainability.
Malaysia is also seeking to tap the potential of emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, and has proposed the establishment of an ASEAN Halal Council to strengthen intra-regional trade links./.
VNA
