DUBAI — Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, held a meeting on Wednesday with Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

During the meeting, they reviewed the prospects of building up economic partnerships and accelerating trade exchange, the UAE's state news agency WAM reported.

The meeting also focused on the importance of establishing investment partnerships between the two nations across various sectors, primarily ports, clean energy, manufacturing, food security, among others, to the best interests of the two countries' people.

Sheikh Mohammed underlined the necessity of spurring global economic growth and stemming the negative fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global sustainable development drive.

Later in the day, the Malaysian premier met with the UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They reviewed the prospects of accelerating cooperation between the UAE and Malaysia.

This UAE top diplomat discussed with the state guest an array of issues of interest, including the two nations' efforts to confront the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sheikh Abdullah underlined the breadth and width of bilateral relations between the two nations, attributing the growing relations to the determination of their leadership to promote cooperation across various fronts for the common good of their peoples.

Ahead of the meeting, and in the presence of the Malaysian premier, Sheikh Abdullah and his Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin bin Hussein, exchanged three MoUs. The first covered cooperation on training diplomats; the second on establishing diplomatic cooperation in the field of food security; while the third was on endowing a chair in the name of late Sheikh Zayed at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) - Malaysia.

The Malaysian, who is currently in the UAE on an official visit after finishing a four-day trip to Saudi Arabia, met with the UAE’s Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the country’s deputy premier, earlier in the day.

The meeting touched on several joint interests, especially related to policing, security, and opportunities to foster cooperation between the two friendly countries in these areas. — SG