Cairo — Thirteen-year-old Egyptian boy Abdulrahman Hussain was named the smartest child in the world at a global competition held in Malaysia this week, which 70 countries participated in.

Hussain managed to solve 230 complex arithmetic problems in just eight minutes, and won first place among 3,000 children from all over the world.

Hussain told Al Arabiya that he owed his success to his teachers and family members who encouraged him to participate.

Batul Mohammed Montasser, Hussain’s teacher, said he had started training on the Malaysian mental skills development program in 2012, and was involved in several competitions previously as part of the training.

She said Hussain was trained to strengthen his memory and observation through the power of his mind and brainstorming to solve complex math problems in record times. — Al Arabiya English