Indian High Commissioner to Brunei Alok Amitabh Dimri described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Brunei as “historic” and said the two countries have been civilisational neighbours.
Prime Minister Modi left for Brunei on Tuesday. It is noteworthy that this is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei.
He is expected to hold high-level meetings with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the royal family.
Speaking to ANI, the Indian Ambassador said, “The Hon’ble Prime Minister is on a two-day official visit to Brunei Darussalam on September 3 and 4. This is the first bilateral official visit of the Prime Minister of India to Brunei Darussalam in our four decades of diplomatic relations. It is a historic moment for our bilateral relations and for the Indian community in Brunei Darussalam that a high-level bilateral meeting is going to take place between Prime Minister Shri Modi and His Majesty the King.”
He spoke about the influence of Indian culture in Brunei and said that India has deep historical roots and ties with South-East Asia.
He said, “This visit is historic in many ways as Brunei and India have been civilisational neighbours, as you know India shares deep historical roots and ties with South East Asia. The Malay tradition of this geography, located in the Borneo Island of the South East Asian Sea, establishes deep connections with India, South India, whether it is linguistic, anthropological, ethnic, architectural, religious purposes, customs and traditions, norms, for example words like ‘long life’, ‘anugrahahariguru’.”
“There are co-traditions where the Indian way of Namaste and Pranam is the official way of greeting His Excellency,” Mr Dimri said.
Speaking on the outcomes of the Prime Minister’s visit, the High Commissioner said that a joint statement is expected to be issued and MoUs are expected to be signed.
“We are expecting a joint statement which will take stock of the bilateral ties and relations between the two countries. The statement is also expected to cover key areas of interests between the two countries. India also has a space station in Brunei, which helps ISRO in some major launches,” he said.
Elaborating on the bilateral relations between the two countries, the Indian Ambassador said that the two countries enjoy cordial and friendly relations and “there has been intensive exchange between the two countries.”
He said that despite Brunei’s small size and economy, the Indian diaspora is deeply ingrained there. He further said that Brunei has many different communities including Tamils, Malayalis, Sindhis, Punjabis, Marathas and Gujaratis.
“We have had a very intense exchange. Despite the small economy and geographical location, the Indian diaspora is deeply ingrained here…Indians have made deep inroads here…There are Tamil communities, Malayalee communities, Sindhis and Punjabis who are prominent here and we also see Marathas and Gujaratis here.”
Mr Dimri highlighted the unique aspects of Brunei, including its small population and geography, but stressed that the country’s Indian community has made significant contributions.
The High Commissioner said, “We have to first understand the geography. It is a very small geography with a population of 400,000 people… We call it a subcontinent, but we are a continent-sized country… So there are these imbalances. But then relations never come with conditions, as I have shared with you, that our exchanges are deep. And despite the small geography and economy, Indian traders, exports and the Indian diaspora are deeply connected here.”
During this visit, Prime Minister Modi will hold bilateral talks on all aspects of bilateral relations and cooperation with Brunei and explore new areas of cooperation.
Brunei is an important partner in India’s ‘Act East’ policy and its vision for the Indo-Pacific region.
After the first leg of his visit, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Singapore for the second leg of his visit on September 4-5.
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