WNAM MONITORING: : Malaysia and Indonesia are proposing the formation of a halal council for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, their officials have said, as they seek to collaborate efforts to strengthen halal economy in the region.
The neighboring countries, along with Brunei, are ASEAN members and Muslim-majority nations, accounting for about 45 percent of the bloc’s population of more than 680 million.
They have been actively pursuing efforts to capture the global halal market, which has been rapidly growing in value. The Islamic economy reached $2.6 trillion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $3.56 trillion by 2029, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy report published in June by DinarStandard, a US consultancy specializing in Muslim consumer markets.
“I proposed that we move toward the official establishment of the ASEAN Halal Council, with a target launch in Malaysia in September 2027,” Malaysia’s Deputy Prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said in a statement on Friday, after attending the Halal 20 Summit in the outskirts of Jakarta.
As an initial step, Malaysia and Indonesia will first form a bilateral halal council later in December.
“The experience and outcomes of this collaboration can serve as a foundation for the formation of the ASEAN Halal Council in the future,” Hamidi said.
He said this was an opportunity for the 11-member bloc to “connect the strengths of each country” through more structured collaboration, mutual recognition, alignment of authorities and broader market access.
“For me, the strength of the ASEAN halal industry should not operate in isolation or compete against each other,” Hamidi said.
“If we can combine the strengths of Malaysia, Indonesia and the entire ASEAN, this region has tremendous potential to emerge as one of the world’s leading halal economies.”
Hamidi held separate talks about the plan with Indonesian officials as part of his visit to Jakarta this week, including during his meeting with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming.
“The vice president is very supportive and called for the plan to establish the ASEAN Halal Council to move faster,” said Ahmad Haikal, head of Indonesia’s halal agency BPJPH, who took part in the meeting.
Hamidi first proposed the idea to establish the ASEAN Halal Council last year during meetings with Indonesian officials, and later agreed to join efforts for its formation, according to a report by Malaysian state news agency Bernama.
The halal council proposal comes just as the Philippines, which this year holds the rotating ASEAN chairship, is also pushing for common halal certification standards in the region.
While the Philippines is predominantly Catholic, it has a sizable Muslim minority, which makes up about 10 percent of the country’s nearly 120 million people.
Last month, its Department of Trade and Industry told Arab News that discussions were ongoing to harmonize halal guidelines among ASEAN member states “to promote greater consistency and facilitate trade across the region.”
