Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s call for Malaysia and Egypt to expand educational cooperation beyond Islamic studies is strategically sound.
Indeed, it should be understood as part of a larger effort to strengthen Malaysia’s geopolitical depth in the Middle East and North Africa.
It is one of the nine pivotal states whose affairs can affect the whole region — not unlike Algeria, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico.
It is a massive Arab and African power whose geography, diplomatic influence and control of the Suez Canal make it indispensable to international trade and regional security.
