Malaysia Renews Commitment To Strengthen Education Ties With Nigeria

By: Mnena Iyorkegh, Abuja

The Malaysian government has restated commitment to strengthen the existing partnership with Nigeria in the Education sector and trade investments.

The Malaysian High Commissioner to Nigeria,  Aiyub Omar, who stated this  during the 67th anniversary celebration of Malaysia, in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital said that his country continues to be one of the preferred destinations for Nigerian students to pursue their tertiary education.

“There are currently about 3,386 Nigerian students pursuing higher education in Malaysia either in public and private institutions. Malaysia, has been contributing to the Nigeria’s development under the framework of South-South Cooperation commitment by providing our technical assistance and expertise. Nigeria has been a recipient country of our Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) since 1981. Until today, 560 government officials from Nigeria have benefited in various technical courses that we offer namely trade, economy, construction skills, cyber security, environmental management, diplomacy, health, public administration, and education”.

Omar noted that the journey of Malaysia’s diplomatic relations with Nigeria would achieve its milestone of 60 years very soon.

“The relations are focused on trade, education, people-to-people contact as well as bilateral development assistance. Bilaterally, the journey of our diplomatic relations with Nigeria will achieve its milestone of 60 years by 2025. This longstanding relationship are based on a mutual interest in the realms of politics, economics and social. Globally, Nigeria is Malaysia 37th trading partner. Total bilateral trade between Malaysia and Nigeria in 2023 was USD956 million (RM4.36 billion). For this year alone, our total bilateral trade until the month of July has been recorded at USD747 million. Nigeria is currently Malaysia’s 4th largest partner in Africa (after South Africa, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire)”. Omar noted.

Speaking on Malaysia’s Independence,  the High commissioner explained that the journey to Malaysian post-independence period was a long and challenging one involving years of struggle and negotiations of political parties, which pushed for  self-governance.

“From humble beginnings, Malaysia has diversified its economy, harnessed its natural resources and achieved remarkable milestones. Since gaining independence in 1957, Malaysia has effectively shifted its economy away from its initial reliance on agriculture and commodities to evolve into a nation with robust manufacturing and service sectors, turning Malaysia into a major global player in the export of electrical appliances, parts, and components. Based on a World Bank report, Malaysia stood out as a highly open economy, consistently maintaining a trade-to-GDP ratio exceeding 130% since 2010“, he explained.

Also speaking, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who was represented by the Director of Asia and Pacific, Ambassador Misturah Abdurrahim said Nigeria would continue to explore avenues to expand the already existing relations between the two countries.

“This day stands as a testament to the unity between the two nations. Nigeria and Malaysia share a long-standing relationship rooted in mutual respect shared aspiration and common interest built on a foundation of cooperation in various sectors including trade, education, and technology. This partnership highlights the potential of our countries working together to address the challenges of the twenty-first century. We will continue to strengthen the relationship for the benefit of all”, he said.

On his part, the Director of Economic Trade and Investment, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Akinremi Bolaji, stressed the need for Nigeria to wake up and harness its vast natural and human resources.

“We have a lot of investors from Malaysia in the area of palm oil. We need to speak to ourselves as Nigerians, what exactly is our problem God has blessed us with a lot of resources, that if well harnessed, we can beat many nations in the agriculture sector. Occasions like this provide us with a platform to review and ask why Nigeria is not doing well”. He stressed

Nigerians and the Diplomatic Community were in attendance to celebrate with Malaysians.

Dominica Nwabufo