A High-Level Forum and Conference on Societies of Opportunity 2025

A High-Level Forum and Conference on Societies of Opportunity 2025 was organised today, 28-30 April 2025, by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) Singapore and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), National University of Singapore (NUS) at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore.

The Malaysian delegation was led by The Honourable Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Binti Ahmad, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD), Malaysia. She was accompanied by Mr. Mohd Daud bin Mohd Arif, Deputy Secretary-General (Strategic),MWFCD; Dr. Mohd Azizuddin bin Mohd Yussof, Deputy Director-General (Policy), National Population and Family Development Board (NPFDB); Mr. Mohd Firdaus bin Mazalan, Senior Assistant Director, Strategic Planning Division, NPFDB; and Ms. Wan Nur Izzati binti Wan Hanapi, ASEAN Special Task Force Officer, International Relations Division, MWFCD.

The High-Level Forum commenced on day one with Opening Remarks by His Excellency Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, followed by a series of presentations under the theme of Access to Opportunities and Social Mobility."The Honourable Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Binti Ahmad delivered a presentation during the first session titled "Empowering Communities, Driving Social Mobility: Malaysia's Holistic Approach." She shared the stage with Her Excellency Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of Community Empowerment, United Arab Emirates. Both distinguished speakers deliberated on the topic, "How can we better build human capital to enhance access to opportunities and foster social mobility?"

Throughout the Forum, The Honourable Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Binti Ahmad actively engaged with fellow dignitaries, highlighting best practices, policy initiatives, and future directions to ensure that opportunities are made more equitable, thereby enabling societies to achieve greater upward mobility. The sessions concluded with Closing Remarks by His Excellency Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development.

Following the Forum, a bilateral meeting was convened between The Honourable Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini and His Excellency Aubeck Kam, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore. The meeting reaffirmed the mutual commitment to further deepen the already strong cooperation between the two nations, established through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Malaysia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore on Cooperation in the Fields of Social Welfare, Women and Persons with Disabilities' Empowerment, Family, Children and Community Development, signed on 24 December 2024, with the official exchange of documents held during His Excellency Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s visit to Kuala Lumpur in January 2025.