History
The UAE and Malaysia enjoy excellent bilateral relations, which date back to the early 1970s with both countries having diplomatic representations afterwards.
Malaysia established its Embassy in Abu Dhabi in January 1983 with the aim of strengthening its political, economic and socio-cultural links with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was subsequently upgraded to an Ambassadorial level in July 2000. The UAE established its Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in October 1995. The relations between both countries have been elevated to “Strategic Partnership” since 27 September 2022.
Economic relations began to expand steadily since then, especially in trade and investment. In 2022, the UAE was Malaysia's largest trading partner, second-largest export destination, and second-largest import source among West Asia countries. Total trade recorded the highest figure of RM38.73 billion (USD8.79 billion) in 2022, registering an increase of 73.5% from 2021. Total imports amounted to RM22.66 billion (USD5.14 billion), against exports of RM16.07 billion (USD3.65 billion). The balance of trade was always in the UAE’s favor.
The establishment of the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General in Dubai has helped to increase contacts between both countries and people-to-people contact. The high-level exchange of visits increased since the appointment of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the President of UAE in May 2022.
The UAE's tremendous economic transformation over the past four decades, coinciding with Malaysia’s economic development, has significantly contributed to the multifaceted cooperation, covering political, economic, trade, investment, education, defense, and people-to-people relations between the two countries.
In the international arena, both countries share many similar ideals on issues of mutual interest and concerns as well as having cooperated closely in many international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).