The first-ever visit of Brunei Darussalam Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah to Bangladesh opened a ‘new chapter’ in the bilateral relations.
During the bilateral talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, both sides expressed “optimism for a stronger and deeper partnership for mutual benefit of the two brotherly countries”, according to the joint statement issued on Sunday after the meeting.
Sultan Hassanal with his nearly 55 years in service has become the world’s longest reigning monarch after the demise of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
With its bountiful oil and gas reserves, the tiny East Asian state of Brunei has one of the world's highest standards of living.
With Prime Minister Hasina, the Sultan witnessed the signing of four deals for cooperation in the areas of energy, aviation, manpower recruitment and recognition of certificates for two countries' seafarers to take their bilateral relations to a new height.
The documents were signed after the bilateral talks between the delegations at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka.
Sheikh Hasina led the Bangladesh delegation while the Sultan led the Brunei side.
The agreement which was signed was related to the air services while the memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were on the employment and recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, cooperation in the supply of LNG and other petroleum products, and recognition of certificate issued under the provision of the International Convention on Standards of training, certification and watch-keeping for seafarers.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali and Brunei Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy Dr Amin Abdullah signed the agreement on air services from the respective sides.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad and Minister of Home Affairs Ahmaddin Bin Haji Abdur Rahman signed the MoU on Employment and Recruitment of Bangladeshi Workers.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and Brunei Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy Dr Amin Abdullah signed the MoU related to the supply of LNG and other petroleum products.
State Minister for Shipping Khaled Mahmud Chowdhury and Brunei Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy Dr. Amin Abdullah inked the MoU on the recognition of certificate issued under the provision of the International Convention on Standards of training, certification and watch-keeping for seafarers.
According to the joint statement, Bangladesh offered Brunei the advantages of the opportunities for investment in the special economic zones. Brunei took note of the offer and looked forward to discussing potential areas of investment cooperation for the mutual benefit of both countries.
Brunei invited Bangladesh to consider investing in its economic diversification activities such as in the food, agriculture and aquaculture industries.
In view of Bangladesh’s growing demand for energy and Brunei’s standing as a stable and key regional exporter of energy, both leaders agreed to explore mechanisms for long-term collaboration in the energy sector, particularly in the supply of LNG and other petroleum products to Bangladesh.
The two leaders also agreed to work in new and emerging areas including ICT technology, blue economy for mutual benefit.
Emphasising the value of peace, security and stability for socio-economic development, the two leaders agreed to broaden the scope of existing defence and security cooperation, disaster response and humanitarian operations.
Both sides agreed to work closely together as development partners in view of the strong commonalities existing in faith, tradition and culture, and shared vision of prosperity, peace and stability.
Both the leaders underscored the need to tap the available synergies and stressed the importance of increased interaction and engagements at various levels between the government agencies, as well as enhancing people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
The two leaders agreed to strengthen the existing bilateral mechanisms between the two countries, including regular meetings at the level of foreign minister.
Both sides identified trade and investment as areas of vital cooperation and expressed their keenness to work to increase the volume of two-way trade, which is currently far below the potential.
Both sides also welcomed discussions to explore the possibility of a mechanism between the Ministry of Commerce of Bangladesh and the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Brunei to widen cooperation in trade, commerce and investment, as well as to
Brunei appreciated Bangladesh’s continued interest to strengthen its relations with ASEAN and assured its support for Bangladesh’s bid to become a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN.
Bangladesh expressed gratitude to Brunei for its political support for the expeditious repatriation of over a million displaced persons from the Rakhine State, temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh, in a safe, secure, sustainable and dignified manner.
The Sultan appreciated Bangladesh’s generosity and hospitality to the Rakhine people and assured that his government would continue to support Bangladesh in seeking a durable solution, with a view to ensuring the overall peace, and security of the region.
The Sultan was earlier received by President Abdul Hamid on his arrival at the VVIP terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by a special flight on Saturday. He is scheduled to return to Brunei on Monday.
