On 13 January 2010, a Korean Delegation headed by Honorable Mdm. Lee Ae Joo, Member of National Assembly of the Republic of Korea has visited NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW). Also in the delegation were several other members of the National Assembly, namely, Mr. Lee Hwa Soo, Mdm. Choi Young Hee, Mdm. Kwak Jung Sook and the Senior Director of Gender Equality Committee, Mdm. Kim Kwee Soon.

A briefing has been held at NIEW Function Hall to inform the delegates on the roles and functions of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia and the agencies under it. It was presented by Datuk Rafiah Salim, Director of NIEW on behalf of the Ministry. Also in attendance on behalf of the Ministry is Mr. Foad Abdullah from Department of Women Development, Mdm. Sureena Thurairaju from National Population and Family Development Board, Mr. Ajitpal Singh and Mr. Izanee Ilias from the International Relations Division and Mr. Pathmanathan Rajoo from the Policy Division. National Council of Women’s Organisation (NCWO) of Malaysia, a coalition of several influential women NGOs, was represented by Datin Nursiah Sulaiman. Meanwhile, Mr. Bhaskaran Achuthan Nair, Mdm. Zainab Saad, Mr. Anbucheliyan Sinnasamy, Mr. Azmil Abrar, Ms. Norsharyna Shafawi and Ms. Puteri Nurul Nawwar represented NIEW. 

Besides the roles and functions of the Ministry and NIEW, the briefing also touches on relevant acts and regulations formulated by the Malaysian Government in support of women particularly the amendment to the Article 8 (2) of the Federal Constitution which disallows discrimination based on gender. Several initiatives of various agencies under the Ministry were also highlighted; i.e. Women Support Centers, Reproductive Health Clinic and aids to several target groups.

The post briefing discussion saw exchanges of opinions and also best practices of each country vis-à-vis efforts to empower women. The Korean Delegation recognized and complimented the noble initiatives of the Malaysian Government to empower women at international level, via NIEW. 

The Korean Delegation expressed their gratitude for the warm welcome and for the Ministry for holding the meeting and briefing of such significance between the two countries and conveyed their interest of establishing mutual interaction and future working relationships.