The International Division of the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI) was officially formed in 1991. Initially, the Division consisted of five (5) Units—Bilateral Unit 1 (Europe/America/Australia), Bilateral Unit 2 (Asia), ASEAN/APEC Unit, Multilateral Unit and Administration Unit. The total number of staffs at that time was 17. During the Ministry’s restructuring exercise in 2007, the Division went through a small transformation. Except for the Administration Unit, all other Units were streamlined under a new section called Technical Cooperation Section to reflect their core functions. Another new section called Trade and Promotion Section was also formed to coordinate MOSTI and agencies’ trade and promotion programmes abroad; to help formulate MOSTI’s stance in trade matters which are related to Science, Technology and Innovation (STI); and to coordinate MOSTI’s involvement in the trade negotiations among the World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, especially in areas related to MOSTI’s functions. The Administration Unit remains unchanged until today.
Today, International Division consists of a total number of 26 staffs. Fourteen (14) staffs are from the Management and Professional Group (all are from Administrative and Diplomatic service scheme) and twelve (12) staffs from Supporting Group.