The tag-line “Sharing Ideas, Fostering Lasting Friendships” was adopted and the first meeting was organised in Singapore on 26-27 March 2004. The Forum was planned to combine a mix of science and fun to allow the nephrologists to interact on both social and scientific levels. The first day was dedicated to “fun” and this included friendly badminton, table tennis and golf tournaments between the Singaporeans and Malaysians. The scientific programme on the following day, allowed the two sides to share on-going projects in order to explore possible areas of collaboration. The highlight of the scientific meeting was a debate between Singapore and Malaysia.