Malaysia to explore Dutch expertise

Dutch expertise in R&D, agriculture, technology and education offer great opportunity to improve Malaysia, according to the Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has a long history of achievement in the fields of research, science, technology and certainly education. They have been one of the earliest nations in Europe to innovate in various disciplines academically, and otherwise.

Their accumulated experience has built unique expertise that could offer Malaysia the opportunity to cooperate in the transfer of technology and participate in student enrolment and exchange. “The Netherlands has a lot to offer, but we have yet to exploit its full potential,” says Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands Datuk Ahmad Nazri Yusof.

There are many Dutch universities ranked among the best in the world. However, only 56 Malaysian students are studying in the Netherlands on government sponsorship pursuing postgraduate studies.

According to Nazri, Malaysia should send more students to take on undergraduate studies in Dutch universities. Many universities there offer courses in English and are very successful at attracting international students from China and the Middle East.

Malaysia is considering other collaborations with the Netherlands in areas like agriculture, research and development, technology exchange, business, tourism and renewable energy.