Dr Roland Chia participated in the Round Table Discussion on Tolerance organised by the UAE Embassy in Singapore and supported by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) on 16 December 2019 at the Shangri-la Hotel.
Delegates from the UAE include H.E. Dr Mohamed Omar Abdulla Balfaqeeh (UAE Ambassador), H.E. Dr Yousif A. Alobeidli (Director General of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre), Hassan Mohamed Al Marzouqi (Executive Director, The World Muslim Communities Council), Dr Faisal O. Al Ayyan (Vice-President, Rabdan Academy) and Yasser Ali Al Gergawi (Director of Partnerships and Programmes Departments, Ministry of Tolerance).
H.E. Mohammad Alami Musa (President, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore) and H.E. Zainul Abidin Rasheed (Singapore’s Ambassador, MFA) represented MUIS and Singapore.
About 25 representatives from the various religions and racial communities in Singapore participated in this five-hour closed-door discussion, whose objectives are to:
- Highlight efforts of the two countries in promoting models of tolerance and strengthening social cohesion through legislations, policies and ground up initiative;
- Discuss best practices and challenges faced in adopting inclusive models and possible ways to address them;
- Propose a way forward through an institutional framework of a society that embraces diversity for peaceful co-existence.