Malaysia and Egypt exchange four cooperation memorandums in Putrajaya
Anwar Ibrahim and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi witnessed the exchange of four memorandums in Putrajaya covering women’s empowerment, higher education, tourism and investment. Egypt’s president was making his first state visit to Malaysia since taking office. The leaders also agreed to reconvene bilateral institutions and discussed expanding economic cooperation, against a backdrop of increased trade between the two countries.
Geopolitics··Evening
Four memorandums exchanged in Putrajaya
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim witnessed the exchange of four memorandums of understanding during their October 10 talks in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The documents cover women’s empowerment, higher education, tourism and investment. They were exchanged during the Egyptian president’s state visit, bringing those four areas into the announced bilateral cooperation programme.[1], [2]
The leaders did not announce completed projects, new investment amounts or beneficiary numbers for each memorandum. At their joint press conference, el-Sisi said diplomacy and lower tensions should take priority in regional and international issues. Both leaders described that approach as contributing to peace and stability.[1]
Bilateral institutions will meet again
The two sides agreed to convene their second Joint Commission Meeting and second round of bilateral consultations at the earliest opportunity. The planned meetings use existing channels between the governments. El-Sisi identified energy and renewable energy, manufacturing, electronics, agriculture and food industries as fields where cooperation with Malaysia could be expanded. These were sectors discussed in the talks, rather than announced investment projects with a new financial value.[1]
The October 9–10 visit took place at the invitation of Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim. It was el-Sisi’s first state visit to Malaysia since he took office in June 2014. The four memorandums were exchanged on the second day of that two-day visit.[1]
Trade increased before the memorandums
Bilateral trade was approximately 720 million dollars in 2025, according to figures reported by Bernama. During January–August 2026 it reached about 870 million dollars, up 74.7 per cent from the same period a year earlier. The eight-month total exceeded the previous full year’s trade. Those figures describe trade before the four memorandums were exchanged; they are not results from implementing the newly announced documents.[1]
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