PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Japan aim to strengthen future collaboration in higher education, including the establishment of a branch campus of Tsukuba University in Malaysia, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said there already were partnerships in this area, including between Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Waseda University as well as between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Japan International Institute of Technology (JIIE).
“Higher education collaboration includes the establishment of the Tsukuba University Branch Campus.
“However, Keio University is missing from this list.
“It was his (Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba) university and an important university with which I have had good engagements.
“So, I am now appealing to Prime Minister Ishiba to ensure Keio University participates in some of our programmes, including civilisational dialogues,” Anwar said at a joint press conference with Ishiba, who was in Malaysia for a two-day official visit.
The Prime Minister also said that Malaysia and Japan aim to finalise their hydrogen energy collaboration by May, which he described as representing a pivotal step in their shared pursuit of clean energy advancements.
He expressed confidence in the project, emphasising its importance to both countries.
Anwar highlighted Sarawak’s role in spearheading hydrogen energy development through a partnership between Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) and PETRONAS.
“This collaboration in new technology and hydrogen will be a success.
“We hope to facilitate it as soon as possible, aiming to meet a deadline by May, when we convene either in Tokyo or Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
On a broader regional scale, Anwar underscored the importance of Japan’s involvement in the proposed Asean energy grid, connecting Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
This initiative, alongside Sarawak’s undersea energy cable project linking Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, would require Japan’s collaboration to ensure its success, he added.
“I also mentioned the formation of the Asean energy grid from Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the initiative by Sarawak for an undersea energy cable to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.
“This, of course, will require participation from Japan, alongside the other countries involved,” he said.
Pledging support for the Japan-led Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (Ceapad) initiative, the Prime Minister said that Malaysia has agreed to co-chair the regional conference’s ministerial meeting in July.
“It is essentially the issue of reconstruction of Gaza and Palestine.
“This is very meaningful to us in Malaysia and I believe to many countries, including Muslims throughout the world,” he said.
Ceapad is a regional conference framework initiated by Japan in 2013 to support Palestinian state-building efforts by drawing on the resources, knowledge and experience of economic development of East Asian countries.
Japan is the fourth-largest foreign investor in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector and the fourth-largest trading partner, with total trade valued at RM156.75bil in 2023.
