Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Bandar Seri Begawan airport this afternoon. He began his two-day visit to Brunei Darussalam. This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Southeast Asian country. This visit is taking place at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
In his departure statement ahead of his visit to Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, Prime Minister Modi said, “As we celebrate 40 years of our diplomatic relations, I look forward to my meetings with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other esteemed members of the Royal Family to take our historic ties to new heights.”
During his visit, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral discussions with a focus on exploring new areas of cooperation in various sectors such as defence, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health, capacity building, culture and vibrant people-to-people exchanges.
Last month, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met Brunei Foreign Minister Erywan Pehin Yusof on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Vientiane and jointly launched the logo celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sultan of Brunei first met during the 25th ASEAN Summit in Naypita in November 2014. They met again during the 2017 East Asia Summit held in Manila.
In January 2018, the Sultan of Brunei visited India for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit along with 10 ASEAN Heads of State and Government. These leaders were also ‘Guests of Honour’ at India’s 69th Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2018.
In 2013, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Brunei Darussalam to attend the 11th ASEAN-India Summit and the 8th EAS Summit.
After being crowned as the 29th Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in August 1968, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah made his first state visit to India in September 1992. His second state visit to India took place in May 2008.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of Brunei Darussalam has been supporting India’s ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’ policies to expand and deepen cooperation with ASEAN.
Speaking ahead of the Prime Minister’s historic visit, Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Brunei is a key partner for India’s Act East Policy and our vision for the Indo-Pacific, and as we complete a decade of our ‘Act East’ policy this year, this visit becomes even more significant. Brunei has been our coordinator country in ASEAN from 2012 to 2015 and has played and continues to play a key role in our furthering our relations with ASEAN.”
Indian naval and coast guard ships have also been visiting Brunei regularly and two Indian defence companies – Bharat Electronics Limited and MKU Limited – participated for the first time in the Defence Industry Exhibition organised by the Brunei Armed Forces in June 2024. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah visited the Indian stall during the expo and appreciated the participation of Indian companies.
At present, the total population of Brunei Darussalam is about 450,500, out of which about 14,500 Indians are living there. More than half of these Indian migrants are semi and unskilled workers who work in the oil and gas industry, construction, retail trade, etc. A large number of Indian doctors and teachers are also working in Brunei.
After Brunei, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Singapore – a country with which India is exploring possibilities of enhancing cooperation in sectors like digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and advanced manufacturing.
In his departure remarks on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi said that he looked forward to meeting Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, as well as leaders of Singapore’s vibrant business community.
Prime Minister Modi said, “I look forward to my discussions to further strengthen our strategic partnership with Singapore, especially in new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalisation and sustainable development. Both countries are important partners in our Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision. I am confident that my visits will further strengthen our partnership with Brunei, Singapore and the larger ASEAN region.”
Last week, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw led the Indian delegation at the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) held in Singapore on Monday.
During their visit, the Indian Ministerial delegation also jointly met the Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong, who led the Singapore delegation for the first ISMR to be held in New Delhi in September 2022.
“I am pleased that there has been progress on many fronts since our last meeting, and new ideas for cooperation, including in advanced manufacturing and connectivity, are being pursued. These initiatives will pave the way for closer strategic cooperation and partnership between India and Singapore,” the Singapore Prime Minister said after the meeting with Indian ministers on Monday.
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