President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has announced that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has pledged concrete assistance for Maldivian students studying in Malaysia during his recent state visit to the island nation.
Speaking on PSM’s “Nation Chat” programme, President Muizzu noted that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit—made at the Maldives’ invitation—produced assurances that the roughly 2,700 Maldivian students currently enrolled in Malaysian institutions, along with the estimated 6,000 Maldivians residing there with families, will benefit from streamlined administrative processes and enhanced internship opportunities, particularly for those pursuing medical and technical fields.
“The Prime Minister said things would be facilitated. This includes necessary arrangements for students currently studying and those intending to study—for example, working to facilitate internship opportunities for medical students,” President Muizzu said, emphasising that the commitments aim to ease both academic and day‑to‑day challenges faced by the Maldivian community abroad.
Beyond education, the two leaders discussed accelerating the USD 100 million currency‑swap agreement, initiating early talks on a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) that would grant special concessions to bilateral commerce, and exploring joint investment ventures.
President Muizzu highlighted Malaysia as a “special nation” to the Maldives and underscored that discussions also covered climate‑change cooperation, resolving operational issues at the Maldivian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and establishing a joint committee tasked with elevating Malaysia‑Maldives relations to a higher strategic level.