A Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between Bioversity International and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This MoU celebrates the research partners’ 15-year relationship and shared commitment to protect Malaysia’s rich agricultural biodiversity. How far we open to all university's members or just limited to certain individual. We cannot limit knowledge to be expanded widely in order to make it happen. Tis kind of project should be an important research area.

Countries around the world are increasing their investment in agricultural and tree biodiversity to improve diets, adapt to climate change, control pests and diseases and help reverse forest and land degradation. Bioversity International is a world leader in these research topics. Bioversity International’s current mandate for conservation through use offers prospects for strengthening Malaysia’s thriving economy while safeguarding its rich natural resources. Areas of strong mutual interest between Bioversity International and Malaysia include capitalizing on local fruit tree diversity, control of banana diseases to improve livelihoods, use of tree genetic diversity to enhance the success of forest and land restoration, and cryopreservation of key diversity for future use. Bioversity International’s research in use and safeguarding of agricultural and tree biodiversity brings synergistic value to Malaysia’s excellent research centres and provides opportunities for Malaysian scientists to publish and obtain experience and advanced training in an international environment.

Bioversity International and this prestigious Malaysian university have a long and successful history. In 2001, UPM became the first public education institution in Malaysia to partner with Bioversity International to carry out joint research projects. In the first few years that Bioversity International opened its doors in the South-east Asian country, it collaborated with UPM to publish a field genebank management guide that is still the go-to document for field genebank managers worldwide. Since last year, the two organizations have been collaborating to develop approaches and practices for restoring the productivity and resilience of degraded forests.