The Royal Australian Air Force's Flight Lieutenant Imam Abdul Kader has spent his fifth visit to Brunei Darussalam educating on emotional intelligence, the chaplain's role in mental health support and enhancing the chaplaincy network throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

The visit, as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2025, included a five-day Religious Engagement Program hosted by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) Religious Directorate.

During the program, Imam Kader provided a presentation on emotional intelligence to students of Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan in Brunei Darussalam, titled ‘Feel like the Prophet Muhammad Felt’.

“I was delighted to be invited to give a lecture to youth leadership, focusing on emotional intelligence,” Imam Kader said.

“It demonstrated a growing level of trust in the relationship between the ADF and RBAF, outside of the defence boundary and into the community and beyond.”

'The strength of the strategic partnership is growing and through that we can have an established presence of chaplaincy throughout the region.'

Imam Kader also participated in roundtable discussions with the Directorate of Religion, RBAF at Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

The discussions focused on topics such as 'Enhancing Chaplain Readiness' in the context of defence forces. It followed on with demonstrations of chaplaincy in the field, including providing mental health support in the context of operational missions.

“It resonated with our counterparts very well to understand the level of support and engagement our ADF chaplains provide when members go through mental health, loss and grief,” he said.

Imam Kader believed the week’s engagements demonstrated an increased interest in extending the collaboration between ADF and RBAF chaplaincy.

“The strength of the strategic partnership is growing and through that we can have an established presence of chaplaincy throughout the region,” he said.

“As we continue to support each other, we can build our network where we grow together on a journey that extends our support for each other into the future.”