Malaysia and United Kingdom have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support an increased number of Malaysian doctors and health professionals to work and enhance their expertise in the UK.
The MoU was signed on 8 November, during a meeting between the Foreign Minister for Malaysia Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Elizabeth Truss, during her recent visit to Malaysia.
The Malaysian Minister for Health, Khairy Jamaluddin, welcomed the MoU, announcing that it would provide Malaysian doctors to gain experience in respective fields at UK, and also provide resource for the health sector in UK.
He also stated that initial discussions on possible collaborations for vaccine research and development have been initiated with UK, following the upgrading of the Malaysian Genome Institute into the Malaysian Genome and Vaccine Institute.
Comments by British Council:
The announcement of the MoU facilitating Malaysian health sector professionals with increased opportunities for work at UK, combined with the possibilities opened by the Graduate Route will be of significant interest to not just Malaysian health professional but also students seeking higher education in medicine and allied health subjects at UK. Medicine, dentistry, and allied health courses are some of the top options pursued by Malaysian students at UK.
The opportunity to gain practical experience, improve their professional development and work in the UK will have a strong positive impact on interest by prospective students.
At the same time, this is a major opportunity for Malaysian doctors and health sector professionals, particularly those who have completed their degrees and training at UK to then work with the UK’s National Health Services and expand their international professional experience.