Malaysia opens Libya Pavilion at Mihas 2026 as bilateral trade surges

Malaysia launched a dedicated Libya national pavilion at the 22nd Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas 2026) on Thursday, formalising a trade corridor between ASEAN and North Africa as bilateral trade between the two countries reached RM1.03 billion in 2025, up 38.9% on the previous year.

The Libya Pavilion, unveiled at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Kuala Lumpur on September 24, is jointly organised by the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and the General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences. It is designed to give ASEAN businesses a gateway into Mediterranean and North African markets, while offering Libyan enterprises direct access to Malaysia's halal certification, quality assurance and trade infrastructure.
"By bringing Libya's growing private sector into Malaysia's halal ecosystem — our certification, quality assurance, and trade infrastructure — we can build supply chains strong enough to serve the whole Islamic world," said Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, chairman of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), at the launch.

For the first eight months of 2026 alone, Malaysia's exports to Libya stood at RM106.5 million, a 73.4% year-on-year increase, comprising mainly machinery, equipment and parts, chemicals and chemical products, and palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products. The pavilion follows Matrade's Export Acceleration Mission to Tripoli in May 2024, which involved 10 Malaysian companies and generated nearly RM250 million in business opportunities, as well as Malaysia's participation in the Tripoli International Fair earlier in 2026.