KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — Al Sharq Forum, an independent international pro-democracy think tank based in Istanbul, launched its local office here yesterday.
Established in 2012, it aims to develop long-term strategies to ensure the political development, social justice and economic prosperity to the world especially in the Al Sharq region.
Its president Wadah Khanfar said Al-Sharq Forum chose Kuala Lumpur as a base because the city and Malaysia have great experience in the topics of tolerance, diversity and coexistence.
“These are values that are at the heart of Al-Sharq Forum,” he said at a press conference after the launch of Al Sharq Forum office in Malaysia at Pullman Hotel KLCC, yesterday.
Khanfar said that as its first initiative in the country, group will host its 5th Youth Annual Conference here in April next year.
He said the event will feature series of intellectual talks, dialogues, debates and discussions about the prospect and trends of the future.
“The conference will feature local and international speakers, and participants can also share their knowledge as well as experiences among themselves,” he added.
Also present at the event was Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who officiated the launch.
Saifuddin called the forum a good initiative that gathers scholars and experts from all over the world, thus, leveraging their potential to generate new and current ideas.
“Of course the government welcomes this initiative because we believe it will open up a very good opportunity especially for young leaders in Malaysia to build a networking and exchanging ideas through Al -Sharq Forum,” he added.
