- Prime Ministers Anwar Ibrahim and Anthony Albanese witnessed the signing of several bilateral MOUs, underscoring strong cooperation in education, trade, and security.
- A key highlight was the launch of Monash University’s new campus at TRX Exchange, Kuala Lumpur, reinforcing Australia’s role as a top destination for Malaysian students.
- The agreements also cover transnational crime, port collaboration (Tanjung Pelepas-Melbourne), and export financing, with leaders pledging closer work on halal products, energy, and cybersecurity.
A number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between Australia and Malaysia, as a reflection of the warm bilateral relations between the two nations, particularly in education. The signing of the MOUs was marked by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his Australian counterpart, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Among them is an MOU on transnational crime, one between Johor's Tanjung Pelepas and Port of Melbourne, and an MOU between Export Finance Australia and Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Berhad. A new campus of Monash University at TRX Exchange in Kuala Lumpur was also launched at the function. Australia has been a destination of choice for numerous Malaysian students because of the country's record, Anwar said.
“I have said this earlier that Prime Minister Albanese has been a committed friend, and has been very supportive of our ventures and my meetings with him have been very fruitful, candid and very open, and both of us have freely committed to enhance better relations in terms of serious trade, investment and ventures, we touched on this on foreign national crime, cybersecurity, I believe we need to pick it up, and all the ministers here and all of us, we will likely notify the Cabinet on Friday", he said while noting that other sectors that need to be worked upon are halal products and energy.
Anwar has also commended Australia's position when it comes to settling conflicts. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who made his maiden trip to Malaysia in his role as premier, stated that the bilateral relationship between the two nations has been in good standing, with a total of millions invested.
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"Beyond all of it, our people-to-people connections. The statistic that 500,000 Malaysians have had the benefit of their education in Australia over the years is an incredibly strong statistic. What it means is that they come back to Malaysia, having had that skill boost, but importantly also, they become advocates for the relationship between our two countries, and that's so strong as we move forward", Albanese said.
"So I believe that the relationship is in excellent health as we move forward. It's healthy that we've had all of those MOUs signed here today that will result in additional growth", he added.
Albanese further added that the two countries enjoyed a relationship of trust and engagement that had been nurtured over a considerable period of time, which had been facilitated by the people-to-people relations.
