In May last year, President Halimah Yacob put forward the idea of a unique interfaith forum with the status and prestige of the Shangri-La Dialogue, and a mission to promote understanding between different communities.

She envisioned it as a high-level event drawing leaders of faith from all around the world, similar to how the Shangri-La Dialogue is attended by defence ministers and military chiefs from major world powers.

The result was the inaugural International Conference on Cohesive Societies, which started on Wednesday (June 19) and ends on Friday.

Organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the event aims to be a platform for conversations on strengthening interfaith understanding and developing new ideas to foster greater harmony in societies.