At the invitation of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, D-8 Secretary-General, addressed the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) from 4-7 April 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Amb. Ku Jaafar, the D-8 Secretary-General highlighted the economic achievements of last 20 years and made special emphasis to the unique demographic advantage that D-8 countries possess.

He pointed out that D-8 is home to one in every seven people in the world and almost 60 percent of the young Muslim population will be living in D-8 in the foreseeable future. He urged all Halal firms to make best use of this glaring potential and in addition to the demand side advantages, he gave picture of Halal production and trade in D-8 Member States.

Secretary-General summarized Secretariat’s efforts to increase awareness and collaboration on Halal products but also emphasized that public sector’s efforts are of complementary nature to those of private sectors and it is indeed the latter that should come up with new ideas and technologies that will boost production and bolster development.

Secretary-General brought the attention of the companies to the web portal d8coop.com developed by Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology of Turkey with the aim of providing an electronic platform for Member States to share information for further cooperation.

MIHAS is an annual 4-day trade exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. MIHAS is hosted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia, and is organized by MATRADE. MIHAS is supported internationally by the enthusiastic participation of international pavilions from countries across the globe. This year D-8 was extended a special pavilion in MIHAS, enabling the Organization to reach hundreds of companies and public institutions from over 20 countries.