Makkah, 29 Sha'ban 1447 AH (17 February 2026)

The Makkah Halal Forum 2026 marked a turning point in the development of the Kingdom's halal industry, founding a new stage of organized institutional work that moves the sector from theoretical discussion to an integrated executive system aimed at cementing Saudi leadership globally and strengthening the reliability of the national product in international markets.

The forum saw the announcement of a package of quality enablers, most notably the launch of the Halal Academy as a knowledge and training arm dedicated to building specialized talent and raising professionalism across the value chain, and the launch of the Golden Halal Mark, a high-level accreditation that gives global markets a unified reference of trust and reflects the Kingdom's commitment to the highest standards of quality and compliance.

These steps embody a strategic direction that goes beyond the traditional concept of religious oversight toward an integrated industrial and economic system that redefines halal as a comprehensive standard combining religious compliance, high quality, advanced governance and digital traceability, raising the competitiveness of Saudi exports and easing their access to global markets.

On the regulatory side, national efforts have developed advanced accreditation frameworks and digital systems that simplify licensing and traceability and strengthen transparency, within a vision aimed at moving from international cooperation to institutional integration by unifying standards and marks and building a harmonized global halal industry.

On the investment side, the Kingdom is maximizing its religious and regulatory weight and turning it into an economic lever that supports the localization of value chains, attracts strategic partnerships and draws global expertise, with a focus on knowledge transfer, developing national talent and building an industrial ecosystem spanning production, logistics and digital solutions, strengthening local content and opening new export horizons.

In advanced sectors such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, investment is accelerating toward building local production capacity for raw ingredients through quality partnerships and specialized factories, ensuring the integrity of the entire production chain and integration from raw material to finished product according to national standards and local operating capabilities.

National experiences stand as practical evidence of these transformations. Dr. Rasha Al Sanea, General Manager and co-founder of the Roya food products factory, said the Saudi accreditation system has become a comprehensive quality certificate that gives businesses a clear competitive advantage in foreign markets.

She said the path to accreditation passes through a rigorous series of inspections covering facility safety, manufacturing quality and compliance with international standards, ending with final auditing, which strengthens product reliability and readiness for expansion abroad.

She noted that the presence of international delegations and trade missions in Makkah on the sidelines of the forum accelerated expansion opportunities and opened direct export channels to a number of markets, affirming that pairing "Made in Saudi" with accredited halal marks, led by the Golden Mark, strengthens global consumer confidence and gives the national product a strong presence across cultures and markets.

At a Glance

  • Launch of the Halal Academy to build specialized talent
  • Launch of the Golden Halal Mark as a global accreditation
  • Strengthening digital traceability and governance in supply chains
  • Supporting the localization of value chains and opening new export markets