KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in discussion with Malaysia towards mutually recognising education certificates and accreditations from each other’s higher learning institutions.

UAE Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs at the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry Dr Abdulnasser Alshaali said such acceptance would benefit the job markets of both countries, besides paving way for more collaborations between educational institutions in the future.

“It’s quite important because of the current job market situation. It makes it easier for people from the UAE to come and work in Malaysia and the other way round,” Alshaali, who was leading a trade mission to Malaysia, told Bernama on the sidelines of the business meetings with local counterparts here.

Education is one of the key focus of the UAE-Malaysia bilateral ties. Currently, there are some 700 students from the UAE studying in Malaysia where most of them are pursuing their postgraduate studies in management, business, finance, and law.

He said both countries should intensify partnership in the health sector to explore the vast potential in the pharmaceutical industry as well as in the research and development of a new vaccine.

The industry would continue to be under the spotlight for the next few years following the global Covid-19 health crisis, he added.

Alshaali said as a key driver in the global halal industry, Malaysia has the advantage to produce vaccines and pharmaceutical products that could meet the necessary requirements of halal standards.

During the three-day mission, the UAE delegation met with Malaysian officials and visited several ministries including the Foreign Ministry, Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, and Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry.

The UAE is Malaysia’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East and West Asia. In 2020, UAE-Malaysia bilateral trade reached US$5 billion and further increased to US$5.4 billion in 2021 despite the pandemic and global economic slowdown.

In March, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob made his maiden visit to the UAE, where he attended the World Government Summit 2022, held in conjunction with the Expo 2020 Dubai, and witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding (MoU) between Malaysian and foreign companies.

There are about 6,000 Malaysians currently working in the UAE as professionals — especially in the aviation as well as the oil and gas industries. — Bernama