Malaysia, Turkiye To Strengthen TVET, Higher Education Cooperation - Ahmad Zahid

From Siti Nurhana Shafirah Mat Nazir

ISTANBUL, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Turkiye intend to strengthen cooperation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), including involving 270 TVET institutions under Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to expand expertise sharing and technical training between both nations.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi discussed this when he received a courtesy call from Turkiye’s Council of Higher Education (YOK) president Prof Dr Erol Ozvar here today.

Ahmad Zahid said the 40-minute meeting also focused on reviewing various memorandums of understanding (MoUs), cooperation agreements and technical pacts signed between the higher education institutions of both countries.

He said the long-standing cooperation between universities in Malaysia and Turkiye must be enhanced, particularly through the involvement of institutions under MARA, such as Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM) and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).

"We are focusing on technical training, where 270 TVET institutions under MARA itself, along with other educational institutions, represent a channel that I believe should see enhanced cooperation," he told Malaysian media after the courtesy call.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said Malaysia intends to send instructors and experts to Turkiye for training of trainers programmes, besides expanding lecturer and student exchanges between both nations.

"We intend to send our lecturers and experts for 'training of trainers' programmes, facilitate lecturer and student exchanges, and share new research findings between both countries," he said.

He added that this cooperation could potentially expand into the defence industry, particularly through sharing research findings and involving technical universities and industry players from both nations.

Meanwhile, Ozvar said the meeting opened avenues for broader cooperation in higher education and scientific research, given the close ties already established between universities in both countries.

He said both countries also agreed to encourage greater interaction between their universities, including by implementing joint research projects in priority areas identified by Malaysia and Turkiye.

"We want to bring the universities of both nations to interact more frequently. The agenda of today's meeting also included potential cooperation between the universities of both countries," he said.

Ozvar said YOK also aims to intensify student and academic mobility between both countries, while connecting quality higher education institutions in Malaysia and Turkiye to realise their cooperation potential and mutual interests.

Also present during the courtesy call were MARA chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, YOK ambassador and advisor to the YOK president Dr Olgan Bekar and YOK International Relations Department head Mustafa Efe.

Ahmad Zahid is in Turkiye until Nov 8 to participate in the TRT World Forum 2026 at the Istanbul Congress Centre (ICC), including serving as a panellist in the session titled "Turkiye From Regional Power to Multi-Regional Actor".

-- BERNAMA