Towards the Halal International Conference “Fostering International Cooperation and Mobilizing Internal Resources to Develop Vietnam’s Halal Industry”, Ambassador of Qatar to Vietnam Khalid Ali Abdullah Abel shared his thoughts with the World and Vietnam Report about the Halal industry and the ways for the two countries to strengthen cooperation in this field.

How do you evaluate the prospects of Vietnam’s Halal industry?

The Halal industry is much more than just food. It's a way of life that encompasses the entire ecosystem, from food production to consumerism. The word 'Halal' comes from an Arabic term, which means “allowed” or “permissible” according to Islamic law. Therefore, every Muslim must ensure that whatever he consumes, comes from a Halal source.

Vietnam has many opportunities to develop the Halal industry thanks to its geographical location, which is near big Muslim countries (Indonesia and Malaysia) and is considered the biggest Halal market. Besides its huge agricultural production (vegetables, fruits, rice, coffee, tea, pepper, spices, rubber, cashews....), Vietnam also can take advantage of all FTAs signed with other partners to promote the halal field. Based on all these reasons, I see, that the future of the Halal industry in Vietnam is promising.

Vietnam started to recognize the importance of Halal industry, and has taken many positive actions to promote it, like establishing the Halal certification authority. I think this is a very important step to approach the big Halal markets.

Also, I read that the Prime Minister recently approved a plan to enhance cooperation in the Halal industry, this plan will help deepen relations of Vietnam with big Muslim countries and pave the way for Vietnamese products to enter the Halal markets.

The Halal market is booming at the global level; the Halal industry is beneficial to any nation's economic development. As we know the Halal market holds 25% of the world population, and Halal products hit nearly USD 2.3 trillion. Vietnam has made great efforts to develop this very important sector and will further invest in it if your country wants to develop this field. I think those steps will eventually lead to the development of the Halal industry and attract more tourists from Muslim countries.

What is the potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Qatar in the halal industry? Could you share plans of the Embassy to push cooperation in this field?

The State of Qatar which is a Muslim country has more attention to Halal products, and its efforts in this sector is globally notable. There is a huge opportunity for cooperation between The State of Qatar and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the field of Halal as example: firstly- Halal certificate issuance, secondly- the State of Qatar can help Vietnam in meeting Halal industry requirements, it also can help in training Vietnamese people to work in this field.

Qatar serves as a flourishing Halal economy hub and has already established itself as a leader in the Halal food industry of the region with key market players such as Hassad Food, which promotes food security, sustainability and innovation. Qatar recorded market assets worth USD 156.4 billion and is promoting this collaborative spirit through initiatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and other businesses in this field.

Moreover, to ensure all of that, the Government of the State of Qatar has established the Halal Quality Control (HQC) Group, which is committed to providing comprehensive solutions to enable businesses to overcome challenges in this field. It’s main approach is working closely with key authorities who are responsible for regulating and verifying the Halal status of imported products. The Halal Quality Control (HQC) Group has retained its recognition for decades by issuing Halal certification bodies in Europe.

For my side, I will spare no effort to help push the cooperation relations between the two countries in various fields, especially in the Halal industry. As you know, Vietnam’s Agricultural sector is so huge but lacks some of very important technical things, such as production, service, and infrastructure.

Through strengthening cooperation between two countries in this field, it can help secure food, not only for two countries, but also for the entire world. Besides, we can achieve an economic boost in bilateral relations and in the tourism sector as well.

Furthermore, Vietnam is famous for its large seafood production, in which Qatar is one of the big importers, and we can cooperate in this sector by applying all safety procedures, in order for Qatar to start importing seafood from Vietnam.

We also can cooperate on connecting businesses in both countries to work together to help Vietnam enter the Middle East Halal market.

Ambassador Khalid Ali Abdullah Abel and Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Pham Tan Cong discussed prospects for bilateral trade cooperation, in August 2023. (Source: Qatar Embassy in Vietnam)

Could you share some advice for Vietnamese businesses seeking to promote the export of products in Halal standards?

Halal standards have become more important globally, especially in terms of hygiene, safety and bring big opportunities for many countries, so my advice is as follows:

Vietnamese businesses need to seek Halal certificates from Muslim countries in the region or in the Middle East to obtain Halal standards.

Secondly, they need to enhance trade connections with Halal companies in Muslim countries, and apply strict regulations of Halal standards on Halal products and services.

Thirdly, they should consider hiring Halal standards specialists from Muslim countries. In addition, they have to pay more attention to transparency and traceability.

Above all that, the needs to have great support of the Vietnamese government toward businesses working in the Halal industry.

With Qatar’s Halal market, what are the opportunities for Viet Nam? What should Vietnamese businesses pay attention to?

There are many good opportunities for collaboration between our two countries, The Qatari Halal market needs very big agricultural production, in which Vietnam contributes a large share of it. Besides, Vietnam has a huge production of seafood and can export some of this production to the State of Qatar.

However, as I mentioned above, Vietnamese enterprises should pay attention to hygiene and safety, seek Halal certificates from Muslim Countries in the region or in the Middle East, obtain Halal standards; enhance trade connections with Halal companies in Qatar; apply strict regulations of Halal standards and Halal products and services; hire Halal standards specialists from Muslim countries to train Vietnamese working in this filed; and to pay much attention to transparency and traceability.

Thank you, Ambassador!

Qatar is a flourishing halal economy hub. (Source: The Peninsula Qatar)