PETALING JAYA: Halal Development Corporation Bhd (HDC) is taking a proactive step to fast-track the halal industry’s development within the Asean region by organising the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) – Halal Industry Module, a bilateral technical cooperation programme established by the government to share Malaysia’s development experiences and expertise with other developing countries.
The first series of the programme, entitled “Halal: Industry Awareness and Ecosystem Development”, concluded recently with 15 international delegates from the Philippines, Laos and Thailand completing the 10-day programme.
Specially designed to help each country’s representatives understand and experience Malaysia’s approach to developing the halal ecosystem, MTCP also guides the delegates in developing their halal ecosystem in their respective countries.
HDC chairman Khairul Azwan Harun said, “Our intention to share our experiences with our Asean neighbours stems from the similarities in our cultures and experiences. As the coming Asean Chair in 2025, Malaysia is focused on strengthening engagement within Asean, allowing us to share our resources and collectively build a community that benefits from each other’s expertise.”
With the 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide or 24% of the global population driving the demand for halal products and services, the projected US$5 trillion (RM23.6 trillion) global halal market size by 2030 is “too significant for Asean to ignore and too vast for any one country to fulfil alone, Azwan said.
“Therefore, we hope that Asean countries can collaborate to build a robust halal ecosystem and collectively tap into this economic opportunity. We, at HDC, can help develop a customised framework to realise the potential of halal trade in various aspects as well as solutions to support the movements of halal products and services,” he added.
Fully funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the programme highlights Malaysia’s crucial role in advancing halal awareness and supporting ecosystem development in the industry.
