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WORLD TRADE CENTER, Pasay City, Nov. 14, 2025 (SDN) — Pakistan’s top diplomat in the Philippines, Ambassador Dr. Asima Rabbani on Thursday, November 13, invited Filipinos to join her country’s biggest B2B (Business to Business) halal exhibition with over 18 countries confirmed as participants.
She said in her address at the November 13-15 Halal Expo Philippines in this venue that the exhibition her country will feature over 500 exhibitors, more than 850 companies as potential buyers, and at least 18 countries.
“I’ll also take this opportunity to invite Filipino buyers, importers, and distributors to participate in Pakistan’s largest B2B Food and Agriculture Exhibition on November 25 to 27 in Karachi,” the lady diplomat says at the Halal Expo Philippines here in Pasay City, Metro Manila. She added the event in her country covers key areas such as rice, food, seafood, meat, processed food, dairy, and agritech.
Dr. Rabbani said the exhibition will provide Filipinos “an excellent platform to explore Pakistan’s high-quality products and establish…launching business partnerships, especially in halal food chain.”
She assured that her country “stands in close partnership with the Philippines in advancing halal trade and investment.”
Canadian Nasser Deeb, CEM, co-founder of Halal Expo Canada and Halal Expo Philippines, told SDN — SciTech & Digital News in an interview about the significance of the three-day event here at the World Trade Center along Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia Avenue).
“So, the reason why we did this expo is to align with the mandate of President Marcos, the Vision 2028, making Philippines halal friendly,” Deeb, president for Exhibitions at The Expo Hut based in Ontario, Canada, explains. “So, the easiest way, the easiest catalyst, or the easiest vehicle to drive growth” towards the goal of the Philippines to push halal industry is an expo and other similar activities. “Without that, it’s hard; here, in one to three days you bring people together.”
The Pakistani envoy cited her country’s exports in agricultural products worth US$8 billion and $500 million in halal meat as it offers halal-certified products to include rice, meat, seafood, processed food, spices, etc., noting their products have already reached Malaysia, China, and the Middle East, among others.
“Together in innovation, sustainability, and collaboration, Pakistan and the Philippines can strengthen their role in the global halal ecosystem and contribute to regional food and security and economic growth,” Dr. Rabbani says with confidence.
OIC diplomats attend Halal Expo Philippines
She assured her country’s readiness to “work hand in hand with the Philippines in a shared halal future.”
Deeb adds, “Why the expo”? He said the expo gathers people together from various places, different industries, “from traders to suppliers to manufacturers and to buyers all in one place,” emphasizing an expo serves to educate people on halal.
“Halal is not only for Muslims,” the organizer of expos points, “halal is for everyone, it’s lifestyle…it’s clean, it’s humane whether you accept it or not, but it’sfor (all) humanity, it’s not for Muslims only.”
“Our ancestors, whether Muslim or Christian, they all followed the same say of life, so we are trying to bring it back the way it was, the way you treat animals, the way you do your lifestyle, permissible by the ethics and the teachings of our faith.”
Citing attendance at the Halal Expo Philippines, which concludes on Saturday, November 15, he said apparently alluding to its being eclectic, with guests and attendees from the foreign diplomatic community, even from New Zealand Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, among others, and in the domestic scene originating from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and other parts of the Philippines all contributing to various ideas.
Businessmen from Indonesia and Malaysia who were at the opening day were Muhammad Faisal, president / director at Halal Indonesia / Hidayatullah based in East Jakarta, and Dr. Mustaqim Isham, director/co-founder of Gromal Agro based in Pulau Penang.
Some of the embassy officials from members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the expo’s opening included, aside from Ambassador Dr. Rabbani, Deputy Chief of Mission Norjufri Nizar Edrus who represented Malaysian Ambassador Dató Malik Melvin Castelino; Saudi Embassy’s Head of Political Affairs Abdullatif Al-Sheikh; Qatar Embassy’s Counsellor Sulaiman Al-Amin, also political affairs and media, and Ahmed Ghazal, Embassy of Oman, Grand Halal Bangkok Executive Director Talun Theng, who is also executive director at WorldBex Group of Exhibition Companies.
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) also has a booth at the expo with Bureau of Muslim Economic Affairs (NCMF-BMEA) Halal Division Chief Rakimah Solaiman holding the fort for the government agency.
Various halal certifying bodies (HCBs) also have booths at the expo venue, one of them HICCIP (Halal International Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines), led by its president, Alexander Sultan.
Halal friendly Philippines to attract foreign Muslim tourists, visitors
The BARMM Ministry of Tourism and Investment (MTIT) also joined the expo that gathered at least 100 exhibitors from various companies that promote halal consumerism through their different products, food, cosmetics, travel and tourism, technology, footwear, among others.
BARMM Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist Malano Mai highlighted the Bangsamoro region’s participation at the expo.
“This is part of BARMM’s initiative to promote the products of BARMM. To change the perspective (about the region) because before, people thought that BARMM in Mindanao is only about war,” he points out.
He said the region’s wants how the rest of the country views the six-year-old BARMM, “that we are also evolving” like other Filipinos.
Mai asserts that the BARMM “is peaceful, we have rich cultures, we have products that are competitive, not just locally, but globally.” He said the products being exhibited at the BARMM booth were created by members of the indigenous communities in the region.
“So, as BARMM, we are helping them to promote their products in a wider scale market,” he says, apparently confident the expo will serve as the region’s MSMEs’ platform to reach the world market.
Deeb said halal is important to Filipinos, “a good way to enhance the quality of living” as well as a good platform to support the halal industry to attract foreign Muslim visitors and tourists, especially with a halal friendly Philippines. (©)
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The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, Manila Business Insights, Panorama Magazine, Agriculture Magazine, and others, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (®)