The Second Day of D-8 Halal Expo Indonesia 2026 Records Various Potential for Cooperation

JAKARTA - The second day of the D-8 Halal Expo Indonesia (D-8 HEI) 2026 again facilitated the strengthening of a real cooperation network between Indonesian business actors and D-8 member countries.

Indonesia as the Chair of D-8 held D-8 HEI 2026 as part of a series of activities during the Indonesian chairmanship for the period 2026-2027.

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a written statement said that on the second day, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indonesian Muslim Business Community (KPMI) and the Indonesia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI).

The signing was carried out by the Chairman of KPMI Rachmat Sutarnas Marpaung and the President of IBCCI Mohammed Riyadh Ali, witnessed by the Ambassador of LBBP RI to Bangladesh Listyowati and the Director of Business and Islamic Entrepreneurship KNEKS Putu Rahwidhiyasa.

"This note contains cooperation in the promotion of halal economy, finance and trade between KPMI and IBCCI, within the framework of business-to-business," the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote as quoted on Thursday (9/7).

The second day of the D-8 HEI 2026 was also filled with business matching in the food, pharmaceutical and health sectors. Two large companies from Bangladesh, Akrij and PRAN Foods, explored opportunities for strategic partnerships with PT. Indofood, facilitated by the Indonesian Embassy in Dhaka and the National Committee for Islamic Economics and Finance (KNEKS).

The Iran-Indonesia Trade Center (IITC) delegation also explored cooperation with PT Bio Farma and PT Kimia Farma in the production of medicines. The IITC delegation today also held a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss opportunities for exchanging livestock technology.

Meanwhile, in the HEI Talks event, two talk show sessions were held with speakers from various backgrounds.

The first session titled "Driving the Future of Global Halal Trade: Strategic Synergies Between Indonesia, Pakistan and Iran" featured the Ambassador of Iran to Indonesia Mohammad Boroujerdi, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Indonesia Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, and Helma Agustiawan from PT Soka Cipta Niaga.

Discussing the common challenges of the D-8 countries in penetrating non-traditional halal markets, especially regarding the urgency of harmonizing halal certification standardization at the global level.

The second session discussed upstream innovation through the theme "Halal Critical Raw Material Innovation". Presenting the Director of Investment and Creative Economy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Royhan Nevy Wahab, IPB University Professor Mala Nurilmala, and the Director of Production of PT Phapros Ida Rahmi Kurniasih.

This session will dissect the great potential of 'blue food' (processed food from marine commodities, halal animals, and microbial biotechnology) as an alternative source of halal raw materials.

This step reinforces Indonesia's commitment to empowering the blue economy to encourage sustainable halal economic development.

"Halal Expo Indonesia is not just bringing buyers and sellers together. Much deeper, the main goal is to support the strengthening of the halal supply chain," explained the Director of Social Culture and Strategic Partnerships of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ary Aprianto, in a press release in Jakarta, Thursday (9/7).

"The value of the supply is from upstream, starting from raw materials, supporting materials, the industry, industrial areas, to transportation, logistics problems and the last one at the consumer," he said.

"In this context, the halal expo is not just a business matching. Our target is not just a transaction in the amount of money. We target other things that are more long-term, sustainable, including strengthening the capacity of Indonesian citizens, technology exchange and so on," he said.

The excitement of D-8 HEI will still take place until July 12, 2026 at the Senayan Tennis Indoor Stadium, Jakarta.

The attraction of D-8 HEI is further complete with the presence of authentic culinary areas typical of D-8 countries, such as traditional food stalls in Turkey, Malaysia, and Bangladesh which are crowded with visitors.

It is known that D-8 HEI is part of the Indonesian Chairmanship of the D-8 period 2026-2027.

Carrying the theme "Strengthening D-8 Halal Economy Through International Collaboration", this event is designed as a main platform for business actors, industry players, investors, and policymakers to strengthen the halal supply chain in the D-8 environment while opening wider access to the global market.

D-8 HEI will support Indonesia to become one of the halal economic hubs. Through D-8 HEI, business-to-business (B2B) cooperation between D-8 and beyond countries in various halal flagship sectors is expected to be closer.

This synergy is also a strategic step to support the target of achieving intra-D-8 trade volume of 500 billion US dollars by 2030.

In addition to presenting medium and large-scale corporations, D-8 HEI also carries UMKM actors from the culinary, fashion, handicraft, halal tourism, digital, and other sectors.