Halal blocked the trade agreement between Morocco and Indonesia for seven years

Indonesia wants to relaunch negotiations with Morocco. Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Trade, Dyah Roro Esti, held a remote meeting with Morocco’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Omar Hejira, to accelerate the discussions.

The two countries are notably considering establishing a joint working group. According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, Jakarta wants to conclude a preferential trade agreement with Rabat in 2027.

The first discussions had nevertheless begun in June 2018. They remained deadlocked from 2019 onward because of a regulatory dispute: halal certifications issued in one of the two countries were not automatically recognized in the other.

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This lack of recognition could force exporters to have their products certified a second time. It therefore complicated their access to the market, particularly in Indonesia, a country preparing to generalize the halal certification requirement.

The obstacle was finally removed on May 20, 2026. The Indonesian Halal Product Assurance Agency, BPJPH, and the Moroccan Institute for Standardization, IMANOR, signed a mutual recognition agreement in Jakarta.

A $235 million trade relationship

The two organizations have since begun preparing the practical implementation of this agreement. According to the Antara agency, mandatory halal certification is due to come into force in Indonesia on October 18, 2026, for several categories of products.

The removal of this barrier therefore paves the way for a resumption of trade negotiations. Trade between the two countries had already reached approximately $235 million in 2025, a 33% increase in one year, Arab News reports. During the first five months of 2026, it was already approaching $180 million.

Indonesia believes it has untapped export potential to Morocco, particularly for anhydrous ammonia, palm oil and frozen shrimp. Rabat, for its part, wants to use the archipelago as a gateway to the markets of Southeast Asia.

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Jakarta also views Morocco as a privileged gateway to Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean basin. This complementarity nevertheless recalls the strong imbalance observed in certain trade partnerships of the Kingdom.

No agreement has yet been signed. For now, 2027 is an objective set by Indonesia. After seven years of stagnation, the recognition of halal certifications has nevertheless removed the main obstacle preventing Rabat and Jakarta from moving forward.