Malaysian Mission In New York Hosts Reception In Honour Of Young Leaders From 27 Countries

By Manik Mehta NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York had on Tuesday night, hosted a reception in honour of young leaders in a number of fields from 27 countries. The "bright young minds", as one Malayian diplomat described the group, had completed a 10-day visit to the United States where they attended a number of programmes associated with the World Bank and the Department of State in Washington, and the United Nations in New York. They included eight Malaysians, while the others were from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Korea, Turkey, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and some other countries, besides the United States. Malaysia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Ramlan Ibrahim, while expressing his appreciation for the work done by the organisers of the visit, highlighted Malaysia's role in the United Nations Security Council to which it was elected early this year for a non-permanent two-year membership. Ramlan told Bernama after the reception that the meeting with the young leaders was an important part of the outreach strategy of the mission. "These are young people who will play, or are already playing, an important role in their respective area of specialisation. It is important to collaborate and network with such people and the organisations that support them," he said. Magali Caceres, deputy executive director of the Washington DC-based International Young Leaders' Assembly, the organisation behind the visit of the young leaders, said the IYLA was convened by the Global Peace Foundation and Global Young Leaders' Academy. "The IYLA is a partnership-driven initiative that seeks to empower young leaders under the three main pillars of vision, service and entrepreneurship. The programme has been working to connect leaders across the globe since 2012. "While they have held events in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Mongolia and Paraguay, they hope to reach many more regions of the world in the years to come," she said. Although the programme for the young leaders was extensive and provided exposure to many facets of business and policy-making in the United States, the time available for the delegates was brief. "In future, we would try to have more time for such trips. I agree that the 10-day visit is too short for the extensive exposure the participants need," Caceres said. Rosemary Odinga, the executive director of Nairobi-based Shell Tops, an alternative farming organisation, and daughter of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, was also one of the young leaders in the delegation. She said her organisation helped farmers through modern means of cultivation and deployment of technology. She also assists snail farmers who farm snails for sale mainly to the expat community. Malaysian Jarren Tam, who is an assistant officer in the policy and strategic planning division of the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry in Putrajaya, said he had learned a great deal from his US tour. Tam, who is an economist and does economic research in his present job, said the seminars he attended during the visit provided some good insights into youth leadership and the qualities needed to lead. Wan Hasif Ali, a member of the International Relations and Diplomacy Committee of the Malaysian Youth Parliament, said the most important feature of his visit was the opportunity to meet and network with people in various fields. The exposure he received in the US has aroused his interest to seek a career in the Malaysian foreign service. "A career in finance would also be an option," he said. --BERNAMA