Malaysia Calls For Collaboration With The World Trading Community Through MIHAS
TUESDAY, 22 JANUARY 2019, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia calls for more collaborations through strategic partnerships with the world trading community in various sectors and to use the country as a launchpad to enter the multi-trillion halal industry.
As the world-leading Islamic economy based on Thomson Reuters’ Global Islamic Economy Report 2018/19 (GIER), Malaysia is expanding its stronghold in not just halal products but also halal services too, particularly Islamic finance. The GIER measures the strength of the Islamic economy for 73 countries and how they address Muslim consumer needs. They have recently ranked Malaysia, first on the Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIER) for the fifth year in a row.
In view of that, the world trading community should leverage on Malaysia International Halal Showcase or MIHAS – the world’s largest halal trade exhibition – to meet with high-potential partners in the halal industry. The event is set to take place from 3rd to 6th April 2019 at the Malaysia International Trade Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Kuala Lumpur. The event gathers industry players from over 70 countries namely from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Americas, who participate as either exhibitors or trade visitors.
The main participating countries at MIHAS include Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, China, Belgium, Iran, France, India, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and many more.
According to the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry, the Honourable Datuk Darell Leiking, MIHAS is an avenue that presents the world business community an opportunity to learn from Malaysia’s halal ecosystem.
“The world is better when we collaborate and work together. The halal industry offers us the opportunity to champion this collaborative effort so we can all succeed without having to fear the reign of protectionism. Halal is a value proposition for any sector and with that means a long and extended supply chain to explore. This also means there are ample opportunities for everyone,†he said.
Dubbed the Olympics of Halal products and services, the congregation of world players at MIHAS will promote the growth of halal in Islamic Finance, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetics, Food & Beverages, Muslim friendly Tourism, Digital and e-Commerce as well as Logistics.
Other than business meetings, MIHAS 2019 offers networking and learning opportunities for the international trading community through industry-renowned fora and talks by experts from various halal industries. Through these activities, exhibitors and visitors will be able to maintain their competitive edge in global standards. The companies will learn new experience through the increasing network at the event and this will help them expand worldwide.
A few series of seminars and conferences will also be held concurrently with the exhibition. Some of these key programmes include MATRADE Trade Talk, Halal Trade Finance Conference, MyPitch@MIHAS, Halal Innovation Forum, Global Ethical & Sustainable Economy Conference, IMHalal Conference and Halal in Travel Conference.
Organised for the past 15 years by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Malaysia’s trade promotion organisation), MIHAS is a yearly awaited grand network session amongst the halal-certified and trade-ready companies, buyers, leading brands, manufacturers, distributors and high-quality suppliers towards building positive relationships which is a key in doing business in Southeast Asia.
In boosting the trade of Halal among world economies, MIHAS will feature a highly effective sourcing platform called International Sourcing Programme that has since 2005, recorded over USD 4.4 billion in cumulative trade for its participants.
