Turkmenistan’s Education Ministry and PETRONAS Sign Memorandum of Understanding

August 21, 2026 — A meeting focused on further developing cooperation between Turkmenistan and Malaysia in education and professional training was held at the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Education of Turkmenistan J. Gurbangeldiyev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Malaysia to Turkmenistan Mohd Suhaimi bin Ahmad Tajuddin, and a delegation of PETRONAS Çarigali (Turkmenistan) Sdn. Bhd. led by its Chief Executive Officer, Ismadi bin Ismail.

The participants discussed the current state of cooperation between the two countries in education and opportunities for its further development. Particular attention was paid to training highly qualified specialists for the oil and gas industry.

PETRONAS’s long-standing activities in Turkmenistan were highlighted as one of the important areas of long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. With the company’s support, Turkmen youth receive scholarships to study at prestigious higher education institutions in Malaysia. In particular, opportunities to study at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS are considered important for training specialists for the oil and gas sector.

The meeting also noted that the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, is an Honorary Doctor of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.

To date, nearly 20 cooperation documents have been signed between Turkmenistan and Malaysia in the field of education. In June this year, during the visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia to Turkmenistan, three agreements on student exchange and academic mobility programmes were signed between three higher education institutions of Turkmenistan and Universiti Tenaga Nasional of Malaysia.

The meeting also reviewed the results of cooperation between Yagshygeldi Kakayev International University of Oil and Gas, PETRONAS and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. As part of this cooperation, lecturers and students of the Turkmen university participate in professional development courses at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.

A key event of the meeting was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and PETRONAS Çarigali (Turkmenistan) Sdn. Bhd. The document was signed in the year marking the 30th anniversary of PETRONAS’s cooperation with Turkmenistan in the oil and gas sector.

The new Memorandum is aimed at expanding cooperation in education and professional training, implementing joint initiatives and projects, and creating additional opportunities for young people to improve their educational and professional qualifications.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the parties expressed confidence that cooperation between Turkmenistan and Malaysia in education would continue to develop and that the objectives set out in the Memorandum would be implemented in practice.

Source: Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan