Two years have passed since Singapore's maiden FAPA Congress, Taipei played host to the 23rd FAPA Congress 2010.

This FAPA Congress marked the 23rd edition and was held between 6-8 Nov 2010 in Taipei International Convention Center (TICC), strategically located near the majestic Taipei 101 – once the world’s tallest tower, perching some 500m from the ground.

The biennial event was attended by more than 1,800 delegates from 40 different countries, breaking yet another record in FAPA history previously held by Singapore where some 1,600 delegates attended the 2008 event. Deservingly, the Organising Committee headed by Pharmaceutical Society of Taiwan President - Dr. Huang Weng-Foung – was commended for the hard works and immaculate organisational skills to engineer such a feat worthy of our sincere admiration. The delegates were feasted with the sights, sound, knowledge, food, souvenirs, experience and the many beautiful tourist spots within the Taipei City and Taiwan.

One of the most important reasons to attend such regional event is to meet old friends, and also to make new ones …….
There were plenty of opportunities to do just that and strengthen both personal and professional bonds among the pharmacy fraternity across the whole of Asia.

Singapore is represented by a team of 6 delegates led by PSS President Famitah MK. This year also marked the change in leadership within the FAPA Bureau. The incumbent President – Soo Ja Nam from Korea – having held the position for 4 years, was succeeded by the President-Elect  - John Chang from Malaysia. During the election, our PSS Immediate Past President – Ng Cheng Tiang – was elected as one of the Vice Presidents to represent Singapore.

At the speaking podium, one of our community pharmacists – Joshua Lim from Guardian – presented the Singapore’s experience in smoking cessation programme undertaken by Singapore pharmacists in collaboration with other partners.
Like in the past FAPA Congresses, one of the highlights of the Congress is the Gala Dinner where hidden talents of pharmacists from every country were showcased.

The next FAPA Congress will be hosted by our Indonesian colleagues in Bali in 2012. The 2014 event will be hosted by Malaysia and there should be enough reasons for us to be more involved and interact with our fellow pharmacists to advance our profession and cause.

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