At the invitation of the Chairman of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), Zaini Ujang, the Director General of the Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA), Naim Gashi, accompanied by the Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies (FIS) in Prishtina, Professor Islam Hasani, and the Director of Administration at KAA, Besim Jonuzaj, paid an official visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and to Singapore, where they held discussions on cooperation in the field of quality assurance in higher education.

During the visit to Malaysia, both delegations agreed to work toward reaching an agreement on the mutual recognition of accreditations in their respective countries, as well as on the exchange of students and accreditation experts.

Director Gashi informed his Malaysian counterpart about KAA’s membership in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), as the only agency from the Western Balkans, as well as about the advancement of the process of becoming a recognized authority by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in the United States, always based on the progress achieved in establishing mechanisms for quality assurance.

Chairman Ujang congratulated Kosovo on these achievements in the internationalization of the education system and offered full cooperation in the field of accreditation recognition.

During the official visit to Malaysia, the Kosovo delegation also visited the University of Technology in Malaysia.

In a meeting with the Director of the CASIS Center within this university, the Kosovo delegation was received by Director Mohamed Hilmi Ramli. Director Gashi expressed his gratitude to the CASIS Center for its fruitful cooperation with FIS in developing academic staff in the field of Islamic studies. Part of this cooperation includes the implementation of a joint CASIS–FIS doctoral-level program, in which the first group of students from Kosovo has already been enrolled.

Malaysia is considered one of the most well-known countries in the Far East, where interreligious coexistence, the fight against radicalism, and economic development represent an important model.

The Director of the Agency, Mr. Gashi, and the Dean of FIS, Professor Hasani, stated that they are working to ensure that FIS prepares its own academic staff also through doctoral programs, in order to increase the quality of these programs, and to ensure that FIS has its own qualified personnel who will serve the Islamic community in Kosovo by preserving traditional national and religious values, as well as by combating the influence of extremist movements in society.

During meetings with academic staff and students, Director Gashi delivered a lecture on the higher education system and quality assurance in Kosovo, while Dean Hasani lectured on the history of Islamic education in Kosovo and the institutional development of FIS.

A special visit was also carried out at the Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas Library (ISTAC), where the delegation was welcomed by the library’s management. The delegation became closely acquainted with advanced practices in the management and conservation of library collections, emphasizing the importance of preserving knowledge for future generations and exchanging inter-institutional experiences.

During their stay in Kuala Lumpur, the delegation was also received at the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Malaysia by Ambassador Rexhep Bajraktari, with whom they discussed the role of diplomacy in supporting educational and academic cooperation between the two countries.

Furthermore, the delegation held a meeting at Universiti Malaya, the oldest university and among the highest-ranked institutions in Malaysia internationally. The delegation was welcomed by the Dean of the Academy of Islamic Studies, Professor Mohd Fauzi bin Hamat, together with his associates. The meeting focused on institutional development, the management of academic programs, cooperation in scientific research, and the possibility of expanding partnerships between higher education institutions in Kosovo and Malaysia.

As part of the regional visit, the KAA delegation also visited Singapore, where they held meetings with leaders of academic centers, focusing on management models of private higher education institutions, quality standards, and the internationalization of study programs.

The meetings of the Kosovo delegation in Malaysia and Singapore were covered through publications on the official websites and social media platforms of the host institutions.

These visits mark an important step in strengthening Kosovo’s international cooperation in the field of quality assurance in higher education, positioning KAA as a credible partner within the global network of accreditation agencies and creating new bridges of academic cooperation between Europe, America, and Asia.