ASTANA: Malaysia and Kazakhstan are looking to revive the momentum of higher education cooperation affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the focus now expanded to strategic areas including artificial intelligence (AI), nuclear energy, critical minerals and agriculture.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said educational ties between the two countries began decades ago, but part of the cooperation momentum halted during the pandemic.
"Now is the best time for us to reconnect or rebuild what we have arranged together with Kazakhstan.
"We have thousands of Kazakhstani students who previously studied in Malaysia and are now in various sectors, agencies and ministries. They play an important role in further strengthening ties between Malaysia and Kazakhstan," he said during his official visit to Kazakhstan, held in conjunction with the Malaysia-Central Asia Higher Education Forum 2026 organised by Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) to strengthen regional cooperation and student mobility.
Zambry said this development opens up opportunities for Malaysia to expand its higher education network across Central Asia, building on the growing ties following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's visit to the region in 2024.
He said among the significant developments is the inaugural ministerial-level meeting on higher education involving Malaysia and Central Asian countries, with Kazakhstan hosting the first edition.
Zambry said both parties have agreed in principle for the meeting to be made an annual event hosted in rotation, with Malaysia expected to host it next year.
He said Malaysia and Kazakhstan have also identified several areas for joint studies and research, including AI, nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, critical minerals and rare earth elements (REE), as well as agriculture.
The cooperation also includes dual-degree programmes to enable students from both countries to study at selected universities in Malaysia and Kazakhstan, apart from mobility programmes, industrial training and experience sharing.
Meanwhile, Zambry said EMGS plays a vital role in advancing the nation's higher education internationalisation agenda, with its approach to managing international students becoming a reference for several countries.
He said among EMGS' initiatives is the International Student Arrival Centre (ISAC), established in collaboration with the Immigration Department and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) as a one-stop centre to facilitate international students' affairs upon arrival in Malaysia.
According to Zambry, Kazakhstan's Science and Higher Education Minister Sayasat Nurbek also expressed interest in EMGS' functions following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Saturday (Sept 26) to strengthen cooperation and share Malaysia's experience in internationalising higher education.
Malaysia currently has about 170,000 international students from nearly 180 countries and is ranked 14th as an international education destination, with the country aiming to be in the world's top 10 in the future. – Bernama
