5th Belt & Road Joint Development Forum in Shanghai

The 25th Chinese Stomatological Association (CSA) Annual Meeting and 2023 China Dental Show was held in Shanghai, China on Sept. 12th to 15th, 2023 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC). This was the first face-to-face meeting and dental trade exhibition since the eruption of Covid-19 pandemic worldwide. CSA wished to continue where it left off before the Covid-19 pandemic and, hence invited the National Dental Associations (NDAs), the past presidents and presidents to attend the 25th CSA annual meeting and Belt & Road Joint Development Forum.
It was an honour to be invited to attend this prestigious meeting. Our MDA President Associate Professor Dr Mas Suryalis, Past President Dr Ng Woan Tyng and I were invited to participate in this international event. Unfortunately, our President Assoc. Prof. Dr Mas was unable to attend due to prior commitments.

The event commenced with the Opening Ceremony of the China Dental Show on the first day and then followed by the Opening Ceremony of CSA Annual Meeting.

The 5th Belt & Road Joint Development Forum was held in the afternoon with Opening Remarks by Professor Guo Chuanbin. The theme of the 5th Belt& Road Joint Development Forum on Dentistry/Stomatology was “New opportunity for international collaboration”. These included:- 1) brief introduction of NDAs; 2) possible opportunity for international cooperation; 3)new thoughts for future international communication.

The main aim of the forum was to have better understanding of each National Dental Association, and the challenges we were all facing after the Covid-19 pandemic, and also the opportunities to communicate better and cooperate in this ever evolving world. Besides me, Dr. Gerhard Seeberger President of FDI World Dental Federation ( 2019-2021), Dr Nikolai Sharkov ( President, Bulgarian Dental Association), Dr Nelson Wong Chi-wai ( President, Hong Kong Dental Association), Dr Jerry C.K. Wong ( President, Macau Dental Association) Dr Kimsan Seong ( President, Cambodian Dental Association), Dr Goh Siew Hor ( Immediate Past President, Singapore Dental Association), Dr Tin Chun Wong ( Past President, World Dental Federation), and Dr. Pranay Ratna Sakya( President, Nepal Dental Association) were there to present their views and share experiences.

The guests enjoyed the many hospitalities including a half-day tour to Zhu Jia Jiao, an ancient water town founded more than a thousand years ago, extended by CSA to all of us.

MDA has been actively participating in international dental events such as FDI World Dental Congress and Belt & Road Forum so as to stay current with the latest dental knowledge, technology and policies on dentistry besides fostering friendship and networking with other NDAs to maintain the interests of dental profession in order to serve the public better.