Great opportunities for Maldives-Malaysia in educational and health tourism: High Commissioner

The Non-Resident High Commissioner of Malaysia to the Maldives, Badli Hisham bin Adam, has stated that there are significant opportunities to strengthen cooperation between the Maldives and Malaysia, particularly in sectors such as education and health tourism, for the mutual benefit of both countries.

Speaking on Sun Online's "Diplomatic Focus" program, the High Commissioner highlighted the accessibility between the two nations, noting: "The distance between Malaysia by flight is only four hours and a lot of things that Maldivians can enjoy in Malaysia because we have a variety of tourism products including, as I mentioned just now, health tourism."

He also added that Malaysia serves as a popular destination for Maldivians for food tourism, nature, and shopping.

Highlighting educational opportunities, High Commissioner Badli Hisham noted that Malaysia warmly welcomes Maldivian students seeking higher education. "In terms of education for those Maldivians who want to further their studies in Malaysia, we welcome them even to have postgraduate courses in Malaysia whereby during that time also they will be able to explore more opportunities in Malaysia," he said.

He further emphasized the potential for collaboration regarding scholarships and student placements, stating,"We can also have the cooperation within our framework in terms of scholarships, in terms of the place for those Maldivians who want to be in a variety of universities in Malaysia and we feel that this kind of thing can be more attractive... we provide a very affordable kind of lifestyle in Malaysia and also for the education which is very good for the Maldivians to continue staying in Malaysia."

The High Commissioner also pointed out the comfort Malaysia offers to travelers from a 100% Muslim nation like the Maldives, noting the robust halal ecosystem and Islamic tourism facilities.

"Along the way when they stay in Malaysia, they can practice in Malaysia like solat on time. You have a lot of places whereby you can stop over with clean places to freshen up and with the halal food, with the masjid there."

Additionally, he expressed hope that Maldivians would take advantage of professional capacity-building opportunities offered under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), welcoming them to learn from Malaysia's experiences and expertise.