President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo launched on Tuesday the long-awaited 2019-2024 sharia economic master plan, paving the way for Indonesia to become a global hub for the sharia economy and halal products and services.

"One of the main keys to achieving our goal [of becoming one of the strongest economies in the world] lies in our identity as the world's largest Muslim population in the sharia economy," Jokowi said during the launch of the master plan at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

Even though Indonesia was home to the world’s largest Muslim population, its presence in the global halal market remained limited compared to its smaller peers, such as Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Jokowi said.

He was referring to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2018-2019, which says that Indonesia is the tenth-largest exporter to Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.

Indonesian exports to OIC countries totaled US$7.6 billion in 2017, lagging behind countries like Brazil and the United States, which have minority Muslim populations.

Thirty-six percent of Indonesia’s domestic spending in 2017 comprised halal goods, with the majority of the goods having been imported.

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