WELLINGTON: Malaysia is poised to be a halal hub in Asean for products from New Zealand, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said this comes after two organisations in New Zealand, which has obtained recognition from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), to use Malaysia as a springboard to widen its export market.
"I have given them the opportunity to use Malaysia as a hub for the distribution of halal products from New Zealand to Asean nations," he said in a press conference after attending the Malaysia-New Zealand Halal Forum here on Wednesday (July 16).
He said that he had also proposed to halal industry players from New Zealand to attend the Malaysia International Halal Showcase 2025 which will be held this coming September in Kuala Lumpur.
"An announcement will be made during the event on joint efforts to set up the Asean Halal Council comprising representation from Asean and Asean Plus Plus nations.
"We invited the bodies which have obtained Jakim recognition to be part of the council," he added.
He said the goal of the council is to standardise halal certification among Asean nations and those in the surrounding region.
"The will be brought up as an agenda during the Asean Summit this coming October," he added.
Asean Plus Plus refers to a broader regional cooperative framework that includes Asean's ten member states plus China, Japan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Dr Ahmad Zahid also said that there were talks among several countries under Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to reactivate the dormant World Halal Council to included both Muslim and non-Muslim nations involved in halal products.
He said this was crucial as the global halal market is expected to grow from the current US$1.3 trillion (RM5.5 trillion) annually to US$3.7 trillion (RM14.3 trillion) in 2030.
"The market is expected to grow to US$5 trillion (RM21.2 trillion) by 2050. Malaysia intends to tap 5% of this market," he added.
Earlier, during the forum, New Zealand's Biosecurity and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard said that Malaysia is a significant market for premium halal meat products, with exports of more than NZ$60mil (RM151mil)
"Malaysia is facilitating the approval of several New Zealand halal meat premises seeking first-time access to this market, which is crucial to growing exports," he said.
Earlier, Ahmad Zahid and Hoggard witnessed the exchange of letters of intent between Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Malaysia and University of Canterbury (UC).
The partnership aims to strengthen academic and research collaboration including student and staff mobility.
Key areas of collaboration include chemical engineering, halal food systems and sustainable food production.
Meanwhile, at a separate event, Ahmad Zahid and his New Zealand counterpart David Seymour witnessed the signing of the document of collaboration between Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM) and Victoria University of Wellington (VUW).
The document was inked by New Zealand's Universities Minister Shane Raymond Reti at a ceremony at VUN.
The collaboration paves the way for planning for joint research implementation, lecturer and student mobility programs, curriculum exchange and application-oriented learning, and professional development in education.
Ahmad Zahid is on a five-day working visit to New Zealand which started on July 14.
