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Editorial note: Market figures cited in this article are estimates based on publicly available industry reports and may vary by source. HalalExpo.com aims to present the most current data available but readers should verify figures for business decisions. Sources include the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report, DinarStandard, and national halal authority publications.
The Global Halal Summit (GHaS) 2026 runs 21–22 September 2026 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), hosted by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM). Read this as another trade-show diary entry and you'll misread the event. GHaS is not a showroom — it is a policy summit and a halal-governance gathering. The buyers it serves are picking up a sharper read of where the global halal regulatory map is moving, who the decision-makers are inside the certifying bodies that gate their target export markets, and which partnership-level relationships are worth twelve months of business development.
Past editions have drawn delegates from 40+ countries spanning the GCC, ASEAN, EU and the wider OIC, with networking reach into 80+ foreign halal certification bodies. The 2026 theme — "Integrity, Sustainability, Resilience" — frames the harmonisation, traceability, and inter-regional recognition agenda JAKIM and partner regulators are pushing.
This playbook is written for the strategic buyer: procurement directors evaluating cross-border supplier networks; business development leads building five-year market-entry plans; government-relations roles working bilateral halal recognition; certification managers re-papering supplier compliance under shifting regional rules; investment teams underwriting halal-economy bets. Booth-walking food buyers should read the companion MIHAS Malaysia 2026 buyer's playbook instead — MIHAS runs the same week (23–26 September) and is the larger transactional show.
For most strategic buyers, the back-to-back GHaS + MIHAS week is the single most leveraged trip in the 2026 halal calendar. GHaS gives you the policy and partnership layer; MIHAS gives you the transactional follow-through. For the official event detail page, see Global Halal Summit (GHaS) on HalalExpo.
The Global Halal Summit (GHaS) is JAKIM's flagship halal-diplomacy platform. Hosted by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia under the Government of Malaysia, it pulls together global halal certification bodies, Shariah experts, government regulators, accreditation officials, and industry leaders for two days of dialogue, training, structured matchmaking, and policy work. The official site is at myghas.com; HalalExpo's listing is at /events/ghas-kuala-lumpur.
Where a traditional halal trade show — MIHAS, Saudi International Halal Expo, Gulfood's halal section — pulls together exhibiting suppliers and visiting buyers across a wide exhibition hall built for product discovery and order writing, a summit pulls together a smaller, more senior, more credentialed delegate pool around plenaries, panels, ministerial keynotes, sector deep-dives, side-meetings, and a recognition stream. There is no booth-walking. There are sponsor zones and partner showcases — but the "floor" is replaced by curated meeting rooms and structured matchmaking sessions.
Three practical implications matter for trip planning:
The room is smaller, more senior, more strategic. GHaS does not publish a 50,000-visitor headline number — that's not what it's built for. A summit's value is measured by the seniority of the room, not foot traffic. Past editions have drawn government ministers, heads of national halal certification bodies, accreditation body chiefs, and senior Shariah auditors. If you attend planning to scan 200 booths in 30 seconds each, you'll leave wondering what happened. If you attend planning ten 45-minute conversations with people who shape your regulatory environment, the trip pays for itself.
The currency is relationships and policy intelligence, not catalogues. Buyers leave GHaS with a shifted internal map: which certifiers are aligning on which regional standard; which countries are about to tighten mutual recognition; which government programmes fund which kinds of supplier development. None of that fits in a booth interaction; all of it fits in side-meetings, coffee breaks, and evening dinners.
Decisions take longer to convert but are larger when they land. A MIHAS booth can close a 20-tonne meat order in three meetings over three days. A GHaS side-meeting can land a five-year cross-border supply partnership, a market-entry partnership, or a certification harmonisation pilot. Different magnitude, longer cycle. That is the "strategic buyer" — the buyer whose unit of decision is the partnership or the market entry, not the line-item purchase order.
The hard facts a buyer needs for diary, flights, and visa:
The GHaS attendee mix is structurally different from a trade-show floor. Based on JAKIM's published profile and past-edition reach, the delegate pool breaks down approximately as follows:
Foreign Halal Certification Bodies (FHCBs). GHaS positions itself as the gathering point for foreign halal certification bodies recognised or seeking recognition by JAKIM. Past editions reference 80+ FHCBs in attendance. This is the highest-leverage delegate group for a strategic buyer: these bodies' certification marks gate your supplier paperwork across every market you sell into. Twenty minutes with the head of a certifier you don't currently work with — scope, mutual recognition footprint, fee schedule, audit cadence — can reshape your supplier shortlist for a target market. The HalalExpo certifier directory covers 104 certifiers with scope and recognition lists; use it to pre-shortlist which conversations matter most.
Government regulators and ministry officials. Ministerial-level delegations from ASEAN, GCC, OIC member states, and observer countries — the officials whose policy decisions become next year's import rules. For buyers whose supply chains touch Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Pakistan, Nigeria, or Kazakhstan, the regulator track is where you spot regulatory shifts 12–18 months early.
Shariah auditors and scholars. The technical religious authority layer. Critical for buyers in pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetics ingredient, and gelatin-alternative segments — see halal pharmaceutical gelatin alternatives and halal gelatin alternatives.
Accreditation body representatives. SMIIC, IHAF, and regional accreditation bodies that sit above the certifiers and shape the rules governing certifier conduct. The highest-altitude conversations at the summit and the ones most worth senior business development time.
Halal industry leaders and trade partners. Senior commercial leadership from halal-economy companies, B2B procurement teams from large grocery and foodservice buyers, Islamic finance institutions, halal logistics and cold-chain operators, halal-compliant packaging suppliers.
Geographic mix. 40+ countries spanning ASEAN, the GCC at ministerial level, South Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh), African halal markets (see Africa briefing), Central Asia (see Central Asia briefing), and EU policy observers. B2G + B2B, not B2C — treat the delegate list accordingly.
The most strategic fact about the 2026 halal calendar is that GHaS and MIHAS land in the same week in Kuala Lumpur. GHaS runs Monday–Tuesday (21–22 September 2026) at KLCC; MIHAS runs Wednesday–Saturday (23–26 September 2026) at MITEC. The pairing is deliberate — it lets visiting buyers cover policy + transactional in a single trip.
The implication for a strategic buyer is straightforward: fly in for both. One transcontinental flight, one week of hotel cost, one week out of the office covers the policy and partnership layer (GHaS) and the supplier-sourcing layer (MIHAS) of your 2026 halal procurement plan.
Practical structure:
Buyers who attend only MIHAS leave with a list of suppliers. Buyers who attend GHaS + MIHAS leave with suppliers plus certifier-side intelligence to verify supplier paperwork in real time, plus regulator-side relationships to spot the next 12 months of compliance shifts, plus FHCB conversations that open new sourcing geographies. The marginal cost is small; the marginal value of the partnership-level conversations is large.
For buyers who can only justify one event: GHaS if your role is policy, compliance, certification, market-entry, or partnership-led. MIHAS if your role is sourcing, ingredient procurement, or order-writing. The book-end pair if you can engineer it.
GHaS lands at a regulatory pivot point that materially shapes halal sourcing strategy across multiple major markets. Three policy threads worth tracking specifically at the 2026 summit:
Indonesia's BPJPH mandatory regime tightening through 2026–2027. Indonesia's Mandatory Halal Certification Law (UU 33/2014) made halal certification compulsory for food and beverage products in October 2024, with phased extensions to cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and traditional medicine. Enforcement is tightening through 2026: BPJPH is ramping inspections, the mutual recognition list with foreign certifiers is under active negotiation, and penalties are moving from warnings to product withdrawal and import refusal. Foreign suppliers without BPJPH-recognised certification face closure of Indonesia's 280-million-consumer market. See our Indonesia Halal Market Entry Guide. At GHaS, the BPJPH track is where you get current intelligence on which foreign certifiers are next for mutual recognition, audit-standard direction, and which sectors fall under enforcement next.
GCC harmonisation under the GSO/GAC framework. The Gulf Cooperation Council has been progressively harmonising halal certification under the Gulf Accreditation Center (GAC) and SFDA-led standards. The mutual-recognition list of foreign certifiers approved for GCC import is dynamic; Saudi Arabia in particular has tightened import requirements through SFDA. See our Saudi halal food export guide and GCC halal food market briefing. At GHaS, the GCC delegation conversations are where you get ahead of next-year recognition list changes.
OIC-wide SMIIC standards uptake. SMIIC publishes the OIC's reference halal standards (OIC/SMIIC 1, 2, 3 and the expanding family). National certifiers across OIC member states are at varying stages of formal SMIIC alignment. The strategic question for a buyer is which markets will move toward SMIIC alignment in the next 18 months — because once a country aligns, certification from a SMIIC-conformant certifier becomes the path of least resistance for import paperwork. That conversation happens at GHaS in a way it does not happen anywhere else.
A productive GHaS is built in the four weeks before you fly. The buyers who leave with new partnerships and shifted internal maps are the ones who arrived with a delegate list, a matchmaking calendar, and a clear set of policy questions — not the ones who arrived planning to "see who's there."
A two-day summit format demands a different on-site rhythm to a four-day trade show. There is no Day 1 "soft start" and no Day 4 closing-day commercial discount window. Every session matters; every break matters; every evening matters. Plan accordingly.
08:00–09:30: write up your full GHaS notes while vivid, identify the suppliers your GHaS conversations surfaced that you want to meet at MIHAS, rebook or confirm MIHAS meeting slots for the afternoon. Then transition to MITEC and start MIHAS Day 1 with GHaS-warmed contacts as your anchors.
A summit's value is measured not on the day but in the 90 days after. The conversion units are different from a trade show — partnerships, market-entry plans, certification pivots, multi-year supplier programmes — so the follow-up cycle is longer and the touch points are more deliberate.
To put GHaS in context against the rest of the 2026 calendar:
For the full calendar see our Top Halal Trade Shows 2026 calendar and the Halal Expo 2026 complete guide.
One contextual point that often goes unsaid in event marketing but matters for how a buyer should interpret GHaS: JAKIM hosts the summit, and that is not incidental. JAKIM operates one of the most widely recognised halal certification marks globally, with reciprocal recognition arrangements covering Indonesia's BPJPH, several GCC bodies, and a growing list of OIC member-state regulators. The delegate room — certifiers, regulators, FHCB officials — is attending an event hosted by the most operationally credible halal certifier in the world. That is why Malaysia continues to operate as the gateway halal hub into the 57 OIC countries: the certification ecosystem, regulatory leadership, and diplomatic infrastructure all sit in one place. GHaS is where that ecosystem convenes.
When and where is GHaS 2026?
GHaS 2026 runs 21–22 September 2026 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), Malaysia. Two days, Monday and Tuesday. Hosted by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM). Registration runs through the official portal at registration.myghas.com.
Is GHaS a trade show or a summit?
GHaS is a summit — a policy and capacity-building gathering of certification bodies, regulators, Shariah experts, and industry leaders. There is no traditional exhibition floor with hundreds of booths. The format is plenaries, panels, capacity-building workshops, structured matchmaking, and side-meetings. If you are looking for a traditional booth-walking experience, MIHAS (the same week) is the right event.
Who should attend GHaS as a buyer?
Procurement directors, business development leads, government-relations roles, certification and compliance managers, regulatory-affairs teams, and investment teams underwriting halal-economy bets. The summit is structured for senior decision-makers whose unit of decision is the partnership or market-entry plan, not the individual purchase order.
Can I attend both GHaS and MIHAS in the same trip?
Yes — and this is the most leveraged way to play the September 2026 halal week. GHaS runs Monday–Tuesday (21–22 September) at KLCC; MIHAS runs Wednesday–Saturday (23–26 September) at MITEC. The two events are deliberately calendar-paired to let visiting buyers cover policy + transactional in a single trip. See §4 above for the practical back-to-back schedule.
How does the GHaS matchmaking work?
Summit matchmaking runs through the official platform: delegates complete profiles, the platform proposes matches, and meeting slots are booked in dedicated meeting rooms or curated lounges across the two days. Walk-up matchmaking at a summit yields materially lower than at a trade show because senior delegate calendars are pre-booked. Register on the platform 4–6 weeks ahead and aim for 6–10 platform-confirmed meetings.
Do I need a visa for Malaysia?
Most ASEAN, GCC, EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, and Turkey passport holders enter Malaysia visa-free for 30–90 days. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and several other passports require an eVisa or visa-on-arrival — apply 3–4 weeks ahead. See the Malaysia country profile for current entry rules.
How does GHaS relate to JAKIM certification?
GHaS is hosted directly by JAKIM, which is also the certifier behind the JAKIM halal mark. The summit is positioned as JAKIM's flagship halal-diplomacy platform under the Government of Malaysia. Past editions have drawn 80+ foreign halal certification bodies (FHCBs) as delegates, alongside ministerial-level government regulators from 40+ countries. For the certifier-side context, see the JAKIM certifier profile.
The HalalExpo platform helps strategic buyers prepare for GHaS 2026: 104+ certifiers with scope and recognition lists, country-level market context, and the full global halal events calendar to plan back-to-back trips like GHaS + MIHAS.
View the GHaS event page →
Browse the HalalExpo certifier directory →
Read the companion MIHAS 2026 buyer's playbook →
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