Pursuant the meeting of Mr. Nazari, Ambassador of Iran in Hanoi, Vietnam, with the director general of the Institute of Middle East and African Studies of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (IAMES), Dr. Lee Phuc Minh, in the eve of 2021, and negotiations about the opportunities for cooperation between Iran and Vietnam in the field of halal, a virtual meeting held between the Halal World Institute (ICRIC) and the Middle East and African Studies Institute of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences on the 2^nd of November.

In this virtual meeting, the Iranian ambassador in Hanoi, Mr. Nazari, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the director general of ICRIC, Mr. Karbasi, the senior consultant of ICRIC, Mr. Shojaei, the technical manager of ICRIC, Mr. Eskandari from Iran, and Mr. Min, the director general of the Institute of Middle East and African Studies. Academy of Social Sciences of Vietnam, Mr. Ramlan Othman, the founder of the Vietnam Halal Center, along with the colleagues of the said institution, were present.

Dr. Min announced that the issue of halal industry development in Vietnam is being pursued seriously and the conducting the Vietnam's ten-year strategy in halal industry is on the agenda to be signed by the Prime Minister of that country. Currently, especially in northern Vietnam, there is no knowledge and understanding of halal products, and halal products are not accessible easily.

Then Mr. Nazari, the Iranian ambassador, pointed out the high and growing capacity of the global halal market, as well as the growing population of Muslims in South and West Asia and North Africa. According to statistics, 1.3 percent of the 1.4 trillion US dollars spent on halal in 2020 that is expected to reach 1.9 trillion dollars in 2024 and 15 trillion dollars in 2050.

He said that halal is not only limited to food and includes a wide range of products in the field of cosmetics and medicine, which have a very positive effect on the development of the tourism industry and the economy and marketing services in Vietnam. He added that due to Vietnam's awareness of the importance of the global halal market, this country is interested in increasing the export of its halal products to the halal market, especially in West Asia. Considering the population of 90 million people with a Muslim majority, Iran is a very suitable market for Vietnam's halal products. In addition, Iran has excellent knowledge, facilities and experience in the field of halal.

Next, Mr. Ramlan Othman, who as the founder of Vietnam Halal Center recently joined IAMES Institute from Malaysia with the aim of helping formulate the development strategy of the Halal industry in Vietnam, gave explanations on Halal. Mr. Osman said, in Vietnam, there is no clear understanding of the cencept of halal, and it is just directed towards the halal logo. Mr. Othman had a critical view against such perspective and emphasized the necessity of applying Sharia requirements in the solution of a product. As a result, taking into account the experiences of member countries of OIC and especially Iran in this field, they request cooperation for the development of their knowledge and awareness in Vietnam.

Dr. Karbasi further explained the importance of Halal industry in the world and Iran's position and activities in the field of Halal. He stated that the halal industry is an expanding industry in the world, and it is predicted that the value of the global halal market will reach 2 trillion dollars in 2027, and in 2020, Iran had the sixth place in the production of halal food in Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Iran's position in Islamic countries is seventh in food consumption, seventh in grain production, third in fruit production, fourth in meat production, and second in vegetable production.

Mr. Dr. Karbasi presented business opportunities between Iran and Vietnam in the field of halal, including the proposal to establish an office of the International Halal Institute (ICRIC) in Vietnam, signing a memorandum of cooperation in the field of inspection of halal food producers and exchanging information on OIC halal standards.

While appreciating the complete and useful presentation of Iran's halal information, Mr. Dr. Min welcomed the signing of the memorandum and the exchange of information. He emphasized on benefiting from the experiences of Iran's halal experts to implement a national plan in Vietnam. The establishment of halal restaurants and halal tourism in Vietnam is on the agenda of that center.

In the end, the Vietnamese side evaluated this meeting very positively to start joint cooperation between the two countries in the field of halal, as well as the benefit of Vietnam from Iran's experiences in the field of halal, and due to the interest of the Vietnamese side in the experiences of ICRIC, a memorandum of understanding was decided between the parties to The form must be signed in Tehran or Hanoi with the coordination of the Iranian Embassy in Hanoi in the next 3 months.