PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and the Maldives plan to expand cooperation into new areas such as floating solar, defence and digital technology, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Noting that both countries are maritime nations, Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, stressed that the potential for collaboration is vast and continues to grow across multiple sectors, based on mutual benefit.
He said existing collaborations cover education, tourism, sports and health, among others.
"There are now new areas where we need to collaborate further, including floating solar, defence and digital technology,” he told a joint press conference here on Monday (April 28) with Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who is on a four-day official visit to Malaysia since yesterday.
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This is Muizzu’s first visit to Malaysia, at Anwar's invitation, since becoming president in November 2023.
In education, Anwar said Malaysia's collaboration with the Maldives, which includes the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), is now expanding to include science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
Education cooperation will also include university exchanges, sports and health, he added.
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"As we have seen (today, there was the) exchange of notes in training diplomats (and) bilateral consultations," he said.
Anwar also expressed Malaysia's full support for President Muizzu, who has been vocal in urging the international community to prioritise environmental protection.
"We are with him on this... we follow with great interest and we support the strong expression voiced by the President," he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar said he was satisfied with the series of meetings with Muizzu and bilateral discussions with ministers.
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"You see, we have a large number of ministers, both from the Maldives and from Malaysia.
"That shows the importance we place on our friendly neighbour, although quite a bit distant, but a beautiful country," he said.
Earlier, Anwar and Muizzu witnessed the exchange of three MoUs and two exchanges of notes covering various sectors to strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit.
Last year, Malaysia's total trade with the Maldives increased by 4.3% to US$189mil (RM862.7mil) from US$180.9mil (RM827.3mil) in 2023, making the archipelagic nation Malaysia's sixth-largest trading partner among South Asian countries. – Bernama
