DPM to deliver keynote address at forum in London
LONDON: Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will deliver a keynote address at the World Muslim Leadership Forum today on her first official visit here since her appointment as deputy prime minister.
Her speech, titled “The role of women and girls in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030”, will see her joining other Muslim leaders from different nations around the world to explore key issues, address challenges and provide innovative solutions to delink associations made between terrorism and Islam.
She is expected to highlight issues, such as ensuring a healthy lifestyle and ending poverty, closing gaps on gender and disability, recognising the role of women, promoting the rights of women and girls as well as ensuring worklife balance to help working women optimise their contributions while balancing their responsibilities.
At the two-day forum that will take place at Lambeth Palace in south London, participants will discuss how a new narrative of Islam can be created, how Muslim leadership can be strengthened in all sectors of society and how women are reshaping Islam’s narrative.
Dr Wan Azizah will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Senator Datuk Marzuki Yahya, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and senior officials.
After attending the forum, she will make her first visit to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in Oxford.
There, she will engage in discussions with prominent academicians and officials of the centre to explore possible efforts to bridge the centre with local
and private universities in Malaysia.
Briefing journalists on the visit, Malaysian Chargé D’affaires Mohd Suhaimi Jaafar said Dr Wan Azizah would end her second day of visit with a meeting and dinner with the Malaysian diaspora here.
She is expected to meet some key investors at a roundtable meeting tomorrow, which will be organised by Asia House, a centre of expertise on trade, investment and public policy.
“The United Kingdom is an important trade and economic partner and it is also one of major sources of investment, especially in the manufacturing and services sectors,” said Suhami.
He said at the event at Asia House, Dr Wan Azizah would meet members of non-governmental organisations to discuss issues related to sustainable economy and women’s role in economic development.
She is also scheduled to meet the British Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, who is also minister of state for the Commonwealth and the UN at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
This visit is expected to further strengthen ties between the two countries and reflect Malaysia’s interest in working together with the United Kingdom to increase cooperation in new areas.