KUALA LUMPUR — In a milestone development for the global Islamic economy, Malaysia and Indonesia—the two largest halal markets in Southeast Asia—have officially established a joint halal council. The move is designed to harmonize their certification regimes and ease the cross-border passage of certified products just as both nations are actively tightening their regulatory frameworks.
The joint council was announced by Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister on September 25 at the Global Halal Summit, which was held alongside the prestigious Malaysia International Halal Showcase. Under the structural agreement, Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency, commonly known as BPJPH, will chair the council, while Malaysia will assume the secretary-general role. The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, widely known as JAKIM, is expected to serve as the secretariat.
The inaugural meeting of the council is scheduled for October. Its stated purpose is to facilitate mutual halal certification and significantly reduce duplicate bureaucratic procedures that have historically slowed down bilateral trade.
Building on 2023
Crucially, the newly established council does not start from scratch. The initiative builds directly upon a foundational agreement signed in 2023, when BPJPH and JAKIM established a memorandum of understanding recognizing each other’s halal certificates for domestic products. Under that pact, each agency was formally listed as a recognized certification body within the other’s market.
At the time, JAKIM noted that certified Malaysian products and official logos could enter Indonesia without undue restriction. That memorandum has since been extended to run through June 2029. Furthermore, high-level negotiations regarding the broader facilitation of certification and trade concluded this past June, paving the way for both nations to begin formally accepting each other’s halal logos.
The economic stakes are considerable. Official figures show that Malaysia shipped RM7.77 billion worth of halal-certified products to Indonesia between 2021 and 2023 alone. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s incoming ambassador to Indonesia estimates that total annual halal-related trade between the two neighbors hovers between US$2 billion and US$3 billion.
The Agenda: Fewer Repeated Procedures
Addressing the core motivations behind the council, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister stated that the body would directly tackle differing halal requirements, repeated procedures, and the complex operational hurdles that businesses face when attempting to enter a neighboring market. In his framing, ultimate success will be measured by fewer regulatory barriers, smoother market access, and a higher volume of companies successfully trading across borders.
A primary emphasis of the initiative is supporting smaller producers. Statistics indicate that only about 14.7 percent of Malaysia’s halal-certified companies currently export their goods, even though the broader halal sector accounts for roughly 11 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Malaysia has set an ambitious target of reaching approximately RM80 billion in halal exports by 2030. To achieve this, small- and medium-sized manufacturers need a clearer, more predictable route to overseas buyers, alongside practical support in fulfilling their initial export orders.
Navigating regulatory procedures is precisely where this institutional support is expected to matter most. Currently, Indonesia exempts imports certified by a foreign body that possesses a recognition agreement from undergoing separate national certification, provided the certificate is properly registered through BPJPH’s online system. However, this administrative processing can take up to 20 working days.
Similarly, Malaysia permits a formal halal description on imported goods provided they are certified by a body recognized by JAKIM, with that specific certifying body’s name clearly marked on the product. Creating a standing, formal forum for both agencies provides a natural venue for aligning these administrative steps. While neither government has yet specified which administrative procedures will be prioritized first, the framework offers a vital mechanism for resolution.
Roles and Rhetoric
The division of labor within the council reflects how officials from both countries view the partnership. According to Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Malaysia contributes decades of deep expertise in standards, regulatory governance, and trade facilitation. In turn, Indonesia contributes immense market scale, robust domestic production capacity, and vibrant entrepreneurial energy.
The head of BPJPH struck a broader, more visionary note during the rollout, describing the halal concept not merely as a religious compliance measure, but as a universal standard of transparency, traceability, and high quality that ultimately serves all consumers. He praised Malaysia as a natural partner given its decades of pioneering experience in the sector. Furthermore, he noted that this bilateral council serves as a crucial stepping stone toward an eventual ASEAN-wide halal council, while reiterating Indonesia’s grand ambition to establish itself as a preeminent global halal hub.
Indonesia’s Changing Rules
The timing of this diplomatic alignment is particularly notable. Indonesia’s strict upcoming halal certification deadline for imported food, beverages, and slaughtered products is fast approaching on October 17, 2026. Compounding these changes, a BPJPH regulation signed in August introduces a mandatory pre-shipment conformity check for imports, which must be conducted by an authorized inspection body at the loading warehouse. On September 10, BPJPH officially named four qualified inspection bodies to carry out these checks.
Although officials have not yet publicly stated whether these specific regulatory developments are formally on the council’s immediate agenda, the first meeting in October arrives squarely in the middle of this significant regulatory transition. For Malaysian exporters, having a standing institutional channel between the two primary regulatory agencies adds immense practical value during a period of complex adaptation.
Commercial Support
To ensure that the diplomatic and regulatory breakthroughs translate into real-world commercial success, Malaysia is pairing this intergovernmental track with targeted trade support programs. At the same industry event, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation and JAKIM exchanged formal letters of intent concerning the Malaysia Halal Global Nexus.
Under this initiative, trade officers stationed at MATRADE offices overseas will be tasked with actively guiding Malaysian businesses through the country’s comprehensive halal ecosystem, promoting the international recognition of local certification standards, and championing Malaysian halal exports in foreign markets.
The Regional Goal
Looking beyond the bilateral relationship, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister has formally proposed launching an ASEAN Halal Council in Malaysia in September 2027. Malaysia has expressed its full preparedness to host the secretariat, subject to the formal agreement of fellow member states, with Indonesia proposed as the inaugural chair of the regional body. The proposal has already been forwarded to the ASEAN Secretariat and is slated to come before the upcoming ASEAN Summit for official endorsement. Proponents describe this initiative as a foundational building block toward a broader, proposed World Halal Development Council.
The underlying market logic for such regional integration is straightforward. According to official estimates, ASEAN is home to more than 250 million halal consumers, while global Muslim consumer spending is projected to reach approximately US$3.56 trillion by the year 2029. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that any future regional body must maintain a clear mandate, establish concrete priorities, and ultimately be judged by tangible outcomes such as reduced trade barriers and easier market access.
The upcoming October meeting is expected to supply the first concrete details of this cooperation, including a published agenda, clear terms of reference, initial workstreams dedicated to certification alignment, and a definitive timetable for the broader ASEAN proposal. For Malaysian halal exporters and the agencies working to back them, the meeting will provide a crucial early indication of how quickly a shared regulatory framework can translate into shorter, clearer paths to one of the world’s largest consumer markets.