This study analyses Malaysia’s relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as one of its important partners and the most rapidly developing country in the Middle East. It seeks to understand the bilateral relationship by identifying the essential factors that influence them. Apart from the systemic structure that presents no obstacle for the relations, the study has found two essential factors that play pivotal roles in solidifying Malaysia’s relations with the UAE. They are political–diplomatic engagements and socioeconomic opportunities. Hence, this study touches first on Malaysia’s early interactions with the UAE from an overview of foreign policy orientation and is followed by examining the political–diplomatic engagements and socioeconomic interactions, which shape the character of the relations. The findings show that besides significance of political–diplomatic engagements and socioeconomic interactions, the religious element is still germane. Though not in the manner of Malaysia’s traditional–religious interactions with some Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt, it visibly appears in the form of ‘Islamic commercial brands’ vis-à-vis the UAE that economically bind both countries to embrace more in Islamic finance and investment, halal industry, tourism, and education.

本研究分析了马来西亚与阿拉伯联合酋长国 (UAE) 的关系，阿拉伯联合酋长国是其重要合作伙伴之一，也是中东发展最快的国家。它试图通过确定影响双边关系的基本因素来了解双边关系。除了对关系没有障碍的系统结构外，该研究还发现了两个基本因素，它们在巩固马来西亚与阿联酋的关系方面发挥着关键作用。它们是政治外交活动和社会经济机会。因此，本研究首先从外交政策方向的概述中触及马来西亚与阿联酋的早期互动，然后研究塑造关系特征的政治-外交交往和社会经济互动。研究结果表明，除了政治外交交往和社会经济互动的重要性外，宗教因素仍然密切相关。虽然不像马来西亚与一些中东国家，特别是沙特阿拉伯和埃及的传统宗教互动方式，它明显以“伊斯兰商业品牌”的形式出现在阿联酋，在经济上让两国拥抱更多在伊斯兰金融和投资、清真产业、旅游和教育领域。