Bridging Markets: Malaysia Expands Healthcare Export Footprint at Dubai's WHX 2026

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 FEBRUARY 2026 (THURSDAY) – Marking a 22-year milestone of continuous participation, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) brought the Malaysia Pavilion to the forefront of the newly rebranded World Health Expo (WHX) 2026. Held from 9 to 12 February 2026 at its new home in the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), the national pavilion highlighted 11 leading Malaysian medical devices and pharmaceuticals companies.

Formerly known as Arab Health, WHX 2026 plays a key role in growing the healthcare industry across the Middle East. This year, the huge event brought in over 235,000 professionals and 4,300 exhibitors from 180 countries. The high-visibility of Malaysia pavilion featured companies offering top-tier medical consumables, pharmaceuticals, health supplements, and intravenous solutions. 

Throughout the four-day event, Malaysian exhibitors successfully facilitated 108 high-level business meetings and received 1,177 trade enquiries from global healthcare leaders, distributors, and buyers. These strong engagements translated into RM387 million in total export sales, surpassing the KPI of RM340 million set for the event.

Mr Abu Bakar Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of MATRADE, said, "The success of our exhibitors at WHX 2026 underscores the immense global trust in Malaysia's healthcare and pharmaceutical capabilities. With the Malaysia–United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (MY-UAE CEPA) officially in force since October 2025, we are witnessing a new era of enhanced market access and streamlined trade facilitation. This agreement acts as a powerful catalyst, positioning our exporters to seamlessly meet the surging healthcare demands not only in the UAE but throughout the broader Middle East and North Africa region."

Mr Abu Bakar also emphasised that the strong market response at WHX 2026, together with the opportunities created under the MY-UAE CEPA, provides valuable strategic insights for the sector’s long-term global expansion. "Moving forward, MATRADE plans to forge deeper strategic collaborations with healthcare industry associations to expand Malaysia’s footprint at future editions of WHX. By cementing a prominent and unified presence at the world's premier healthcare trade event, MATRADE will continue to drive the robust growth of Malaysia's medical devices and pharmaceutical exports, which respectively stood at RM34.54 billion and RM3.66 billion in 2025."

Looking ahead, the next edition of the World Health Expo (WHX) is scheduled for 2027. MATRADE remains committed to coordinating larger participation to bolster the nation's healthcare, medical device, and pharmaceutical exports, ensuring Malaysia remains a preferred medical sourcing hub for the region. In anticipation of growing interest from Malaysian exporters, MATRADE is exploring the expansion of the Malaysia Pavilion to accommodate stronger participation, capture rising demand for preventive care and medical innovations, and further accelerate export growth across the Middle East.