Brunei Update: His Majesty Represented Brunei at the East Asia Summit and the APEC Summit

His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Represented Brunei at the East Asia Summit and the APEC Summit

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah represented Brunei at the 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam on November 11, in which he expressed Brunei's hope to build a positive momentum in the global economy. He emphasized that APEC must continue to emphasize global trade to boost productivity, foster innovation, create jobs and achieve sustainable development in the region.

Brunei's presence at the APEC Summit is a positive move to reiterate the benefits of economic integration in the region, which complement the Bruneian government's efforts to enhance the marketability of the country. A number of regional initiatives such as the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, and the recent revival of TPP-11 agreement (now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) are likely to serve as catalysts for more domestic economic reforms in Brunei, which by many accounts are likely to also create challenges and opportunities associated with greater economic diversification. The government of Brunei is hopeful that together, all these regional initiatives will open up a plethora of new business opportunities for Brunei.

Following the APEC Summit, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah attended the 12th East Asia Summit in Manila, Philippines on November 12. The Sultan stressed the importance of the East Asia Summit as a mechanism for strategic dialogue and cooperation to address the various interests and concerns of the region; in particular Brunei looks forward to the finalization of the new Manila Plan of Action which will outline practical ways for East Asia Summit member states to work together in finding solutions to common challenges. Brunei highlighted environmental concerns and health matters as their priority areas. On the sideline, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, accompanied by Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, YB Lim Jock Seng held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to discuss potential cooperation between the two countries. In addition, the Sultan also held a bilateral meeting with President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam in which the two explored further cooperation on politics, defense, agriculture, labor and education. Recently in September, Brunei and China through their heads of state entered into close cooperation particularly on oil and gas; infrastructure; and health in which the Sultan credited China as a major contributor towards boosting the regional development and prosperity; although no bilateral meeting took place between the two on the sideline of the APEC Summit or the East Asia Summit.

Brunei’s chief trade negotiator set to head ASEAN The Myanmar Times 9th Nov 2017
The foreign ministers of the 10-member bloc have agreed to recommend to their leaders to appoint Lim Jock Hoi, the permanent secretary at Brunei’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, for ASEAN’s secretary general post. 

Brunei’s regional multilateral relations Theworldfolio 9th Nov 2017
Pehin Dato Lim Jock Seng Second, Brunei’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, discusses the country’s history, ASEAN integration and relations with Japan. 

Russia, Brunei Sign Agreement on Visa-Free Travels Sputnik 8th Nov 2017
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Lim Jock Seng have signed an agreement on the exemption of visa regime for holders of ordinary passports, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Singapore, Brunei launch second leg of exhibition on bilateral relations The Straits Times 4th Nov 2017
Brunei's Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean witnessed the launch of the Brunei leg of a co-curated exhibition on relations between the two countries on Saturday (Nov 4). 

UK looks to further strengthen economic ties with Brunei – Borneo Bulletin Online 1st Nov 2017
The British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, Richard Lindsay shared that he is looking to explore opportunities to further the economic relationship between Brunei Darussalam and the United Kingdom.

His Majesty in Philippines to attend Asean summits – Borneo Bulletin Online 13th Nov 2017
HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, who arrived in the Republic of the Philippines yesterday for the 31st Asean Summit and Related Summits conducted until tomorrow, attended a bilateral meeting with Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines and Chairman of Asean, later in the evening. 

Brunei’s bid to be ‘Islamic Singapore’ is failing ASEAN Today 10th Nov 2017
The Sultan of Brunei reacted to his country’s economic woes by imposing strict Shariah law, but he refuses to obey the new penal code himself. In 2014, the ultra-rich Sultan of Brunei announced that his country would expand the jurisdiction of its Shariah courts. 

His Majesty in Vietnam to attend APEC meeting Borneo Bulletin Online 10th Nov 2017
HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, yesterday arrived in Da Nang, Socialist Republic of Vietnam to attend the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) which is held from November 10-11.

Brunei’s tourism initiatives start reaping rich dividends – Borneo Bulletin Online 9th Nov 2017
Blessed with several splendid tourism sites, Brunei Darussalam is poised to attract more foreign visitors, leveraging on a slew of its signature products and boosting its efforts to diversify the economy away from heavy dependence on oil and gas sector.

Brunei to host Asian Development Tour in March Borneo Bulletin Online 29th Oct 2017
THE Sultanate will stage the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event – The Brunei Championship from March 7-10, 2018 at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. The inaugural ADT event which offers a US$60,000 prize will mark the country’s first professional golf tournament in eight years with the spotlight of the world golfing scene falling on Brunei once again. 

Uk appoints new trade envoy for Brunei Borneo Bulletin Online 28th Oct 2017
BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed Paul Scully as trade envoy to Brunei Darussalam. This is part of a whole-of-government approach to boosting bilateral trade, with a focus on priority markets and sectors.

US Navy to deploy T-EPF-3 vessel to Brunei for CARAT exercises Borneo Bulletin Online 7th Nov 2017
THE US Navy will be deploying its USNS Millinocket (T-EPF-3) high-speed transporter vessel for the second time to Brunei as part of the upcoming Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) bilateral military exercises this year.

Singapore, Brunei Conclude Military Exercise The Diplomat 13th Nov 2017
From November 10 to November 13, Singapore and Brunei concluded another iteration of their flagship naval exercise, Exercise Pelican. The interaction put the focus on the bilateral defense relationship between the two Southeast Asian states.

US, Brunei Launch Maritime Exercise The Diplomat 8th Nov 2017
This week, the United States and Brunei kicked off this year’s iteration of an annual maritime exercise at Muara Naval Base. 

Brunei’s tourism initiatives start reaping rich dividends Borneo Bulletin Online 9th Nov 2017
BLESSED with several splendid tourism sites, Brunei Darussalam is poised to attract more foreign visitors, leveraging on a slew of its signature products and boosting its efforts to diversify the economy away from heavy dependence on oil and gas sector.

Brunei heads further downstream Theworldfolio 6th Nov 2017
The oil and gas sector continues to be the main contributor to Brunei GDP, contributing around 60 percent of the country’s GDP and 9 percent of export revenues. This will help drive further economic growth.

Brunei named most improved economy in the world The Jakarta Post 1st Nov 2017
Brunei Darussalam has been named the most improved economy in the world for the third year in a row in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2018, which was released on Wednesday. 

Brunei aims to bring in more tourist dollars The Straits Times 30th Oct 2017
Scenes of divers plunging into the sea to examine the wreckage of historic sunken ships and images of families riding on a flying fox over lush rainforest feature prominently in new Brunei tourism videos to lure more international visitors, as the sultanate seeks to grow the sector against the backdrop of low global oil prices.

Brunei’s blueprint for the future of banking Theworldfolio 9th Nov 2017
With the launch of launched The Financial Sector Blueprint, the financial industry is expected to grow by an average of 7 percent annually. We are expecting bigger growth in the capital market with the increasing activities in fund management, the establishment of a stock exchange as well as expansion of the back-office services.

Rapid strides for cardiology in Brunei Borneo Bulletin Online 6th Nov 2017
THE future is bright for cardiology in Brunei Darussalam, according to Datuk Dr Richard Ng, the President of the Asean Federation of Cardiology (AFC).

Cardiovascular disease among leading causes of deaths in Brunei: health minister Xinhua 4th Nov 2017
Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of deaths in Brunei Darussalam, with over 400 fatalities recorded in 2016, local media cited the health minister as saying on Saturday.