Malaysia, Japan Join Hands To Support Palestinian Postgraduate Education
KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 (Bernama) -- Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Thursday signed an agreement to provide postgraduate education in engineering, science and technology for Palestinian students under a six-year initiative beginning October 2026.
The programme, to run until April 2032, is expected to benefit between 15 and 20 Palestinian students.
JICA will fund scholarships, while UTM and its Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) will provide research supervision, laboratory access and academic support.
Malaysia's Higher Education Minister Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, in his speech, said the rebuilding of Palestine must go beyond restoring physical infrastructure and focus on developing human capital through higher education.
“The rebuilding of Palestine must not focus only on physical structures. It must also include the building of human capacity,” said the minister.
His speech was read out by deputy director-general of Higher Education (Academic and Research) Prof Dr Zainal Amin Ayub at the launch of the Malaysia-Japan Strategic Partnership: Engineering a Resilient Palestine programme and the signing ceremony of a memorandum of agreement (MoU) between UTM and JICA here.
Present were JICA President Dr Akihiko Tanaka, Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia Jehad Fouad Alqdra, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Shikata Noriyuki and UTM Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Shafry Mohd Rahim.
According to Zambry, education would be key to producing engineers, researchers, educators, planners and future leaders needed to support Palestine’s long-term recovery.
He said higher education institutions had an important role in equipping Palestinians with the knowledge and skills needed to rebuild infrastructure, restore essential services, manage resources and develop sustainable solutions.
The strategic partnership, he said, would enable Palestinian students to pursue postgraduate studies and research in engineering, science and technology at UTM MJIIT.
This initiative reflects the shared commitment of Malaysia and Japan to use education and research to address global challenges and support Palestine’s long-term development.
“Humanitarian assistance addresses the needs of today, and education builds the strength needed for tomorrow,” he said.
Earlier, Mohd Shafry said the initiative extended the long-standing partnership between UTM and Japan towards supporting Palestine through education, capacity building and long-term development.
Meanwhile, Tanaka described the agreement as an investment in Palestine’s future and its next generation of engineers, researchers and leaders, saying human capital development would be as important as rebuilding physical infrastructure.
-- BERNAMA
