NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 23 – Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Migos Ogamba will on Monday, November 24, preside over the Malaysia–Africa Higher Education Forum 2025 (MAHEF2025–Africa), in Nairobi, marking an inaugural edition for the African region.
Themed “Intensifying Internationalization in the Context of the Global South Agenda,” the forum is expected to strengthen higher education cooperation between Malaysia and African countries.
Speaking during the opening session on Sunday, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia Datuk Anesee bin Ibrahim said the two-day Study in Malaysia exhibition, which runs until 24 November, is a key initiative for promoting the capabilities of Malaysia’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including academic strengths, research excellence, and support for international students.
The exhibition also provides visitors with the opportunity to engage directly with representatives from Malaysian HEIs to explore new collaboration opportunities.
“Malaysia–Africa bilateral relations, long established over the years, continue to be strengthened through shared aspirations to enhance the quality of education, expand access, and foster cross-border cooperation.
These collaborations—including student mobility, joint research and capacity building—further reinforce ties between Malaysia and the African region, particularly in expanding academic networks,” said Datuk Dr. Anesee in his opening speech at the Study in Malaysia Education Fair.
This comes as the Southeast Asia nation continues to transform into a major education destination for international students, with Kenyan learners now taking note of its advanced education system.
The two–day event is being hosted by the Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), in partnership with the High Commission of Malaysia in Kenya.
Several Malaysian Universities, both private and public, are taking part in the forum, including Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA), and University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM).
Others are the University of Southampton Malaysia (UoSM), Raffles University, Asia School of Business (ASB), MAHSA University, Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), and the Multimedia University (MMU).
“This initiative not only seeks to strengthen Malaysia’s brand presence as a rising global education hub, but its intention is also to showcase our products to the world in terms of our academic offerings, career pathways, affordability, multicultural environment, and global recognition,” said the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EMGS, Novie Tajuddin, at the SIM fair.
Adding that, both the fair and forum will reinforce Malaysia’s ongoing commitment to fostering academic collaboration, talent development, and student mobility between both nations.
Kenya remains one of Malaysia’s strongest student recruitment markets in Africa, and continued on-ground engagement will prove essential in building trust and maintaining visibility among prospective students and their families.
Indeed, available figures show that Kenyan students are increasingly moving to Malaysia for higher education due to factors like affordable tuition and living costs, high-quality and internationally-ranked universities, and government-backed scholarship opportunities.
Similarly, the Malaysian government’s strategic push to attract international students, along with the country’s streamlined immigration processes, further enhances its appeal for African learners keen to achieve both undergraduate and post–graduate studies.
