SEOUL, KOREA - Malaysia hopes to reach a comprehensive agreement with South Korea on mutual assistance in education by the end of the year.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Memorandum of Understanding would cover curriculum, teachers' education, vocational and technical sectors, and sports and ICT in schools.

"South Korea on the other hand could send its students to learn English in Malaysia," he added.

He said Education Ministry officials would have to discuss the matter thoroughly and prepare the MoU in time for South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak's official visit to Kuala Lumpur by year's end.

Muhyiddin, who paid a courtesy call on South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un Chan yesterday afternoon, said the proposed agreement was received positively by the premier.

During the meeting, Muhyiddin thanked the prime minister for allowing Malaysian students to study in South Korea under the Look East policy as well as offering them scholarships.

Muhyiddin, who also met captains of industry during his four-day visit to South Korea, said investment pledges received by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority from 15 conglomerates totalled RM3.8bil.

These, he said, included new investors as well as existing ones interested in expanding their businesses in Malaysia.

The investors had expressed interest in fields like green technology, oil refinery, shipbuilding, electric vehicles, food and beverages, defence equipment, as well as plans to open overseas headquarters and regional establishments in Malaysia, he said.

One of the conglomerates, said Muhyiddin, was Samsung Group which had expressed interest in solar energy, light-emitting diodes (LED), defence equipment and shipbuilding.

"The competition for foreign investment is now stiff, so we have to work hard," he told reporters after the courtesy call on Chung and an earlier visit to Samsung City in Suwon, about 50km from here yesterday.

He was briefed by Samsung Group Malaysia president Datuk Lee Sang-Bai on their plans in Malaysia over the next five years.

Lee, who is also chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce Malaysia, described Malaysia as a country located in the "centre" and was the best place to invest in.

- The Star/Asia News Network