TOKYO, May 27 — Malaysia and Japan finalised three memoranda of cooperation (MoC) related to the aircraft industry, skilled workers as well youth and sports here today.

The exchange of the MOCs took place at the Kantei, or the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan, and was witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

Ismail Sabri and Kishida had earlier met to discuss important issues in Malaysia-Japan relations in conjunction with the Malaysian prime minister’s official working visit to Japan.

On the Malaysian side, the exchange of MOCs was led by the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) for the aircraft industry, the Human Resources Ministry for skilled workers and the Youth and Sports Ministry for youth and sports matters.

Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the aircraft industry MoC was a collaboration between Malaysia and Japan to strengthen aerospace activities.

Among the activities that would be involved are maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) as well as aerospace downstream activities.

"It will provide an opportunity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be involved in the supply chain of the industry," he told Malaysian journalists.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri S. Saravanan said the MoC led by his ministry was related to sending Malaysian specified skilled workers to Japan.

Through the MoC, over 1,000 Malaysians will have the opportunity to gain work experience in Japan and if the programme proved to be effective, discussions will be held with the Japanese government to increase the number of Malaysian participants, he said.

"It gives Malaysians the opportunity to gain experience and expertise in Japan for a period of time and when they return they will be able to contribute to related industries in Malaysia,” Saravanan said.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, meanwhile said the MOC undertaken by the ministry is related to youth exchange and development as well as sports.

Also discussed was cooperation in areas such as volunteer training for disasters such as floods, and also volunteerism in international sporting events, with Japan leading by example after hosting the Olympic Games in challenging conditions.

Japan was the host of the 2020 Olympic Games, but the prestigious sporting event had to be rescheduled to July last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tokyo 2020 created history after being the first Olympic games to have no official spectators. — Bernama