| Nazrin Asyraf & Abdul Hakiim Yakof |
TO CELEBRATE the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Russia–Brunei diplomatic relations, the Russian embassy in Brunei Darussalam held a dinner reception last night at The Rizqun International Hotel, Gadong.
Present as guests of honour were Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, Minister of Education, and his spouse.
Vladlen Semivolos, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Brunei Darussalam, and his spouse were on hand to welcome the guests.
Also present were members of the foreign Diplomatic Corps as well as members of the Russian community in Brunei Darussalam.
The event began with the playing of the national anthems of Brunei Darussalam and the Russian Federation, followed by a speech from the Russian Federation Ambassador.
Vladlen Semivolos, in his speech, mentioned the Joint Communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Boris Pankin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, in New York on October 1, 1996.
“Since then, relations between our countries have grown substantially; it has become much broader and deeper in scope. Brunei, as was underlined by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, is our true and reliable partner in this region. Our countries share many common interests and a strong partnership based on mutual understanding, trust, equality and respect. We have been cooperating with each other in political, economic and cultural areas driven by a strong intention to expand the framework of our interaction,” said the ambassador.
He said that the leaders of both countries enjoy friendly relations.
Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, Minister of Education, and Vladlen Semivolos, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Brunei Darussalam, with their spouses during the cake-cutting ceremony. – ABDUL HAKIIM YAKOF
“In a congratulatory message to 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, President Vladimir Putin underscored that over the past years, Russia and Brunei have accumulated significant experience of fruitful bilateral cooperation and expressed his confidence that based on the achieved results, Russia-Brunei ties will continue to strengthen in all fields,” added the ambassador. “This meets the fundamental interest of the peoples of our countries, is in line with ensuring stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region.”
He said that 2016 is a special year for Russia-Brunei relations that have been marked with increased intensity of high-level exchanges. “Undoubtedly, he said that the key political event of this jubilee year was the meeting of the heads of our states on the margins of the Russia-Asean summit last May in Sochi that is regarded by both sides as a significant milestone for the development of bilateral ties. President Vladimir Putin and His Majesty during this meeting underscored the necessity to promote further cooperation, thus giving a strong impetus to deepening and enlarging our partnering on all levels,” he said.
“We greatly value collaboration with Brunei to make the Asia-Pacific region stable, peaceful and prosperous. Our countries have joined hands in their effort to ensure a safe and peaceful Asia-Pacific region by further promoting together with China a joint initiative on strengthening security and developing cooperation in the region. We highly appreciate our interaction with Brunei on the international arena, which is based on the closeness of the approaches of our countries to major issues of global and regional development.”
“It is our common view in both Russia and Brunei that the establishment of direct ties between business circles of our countries will serve this goal. The last Russian business mission comprising companies from various economic sectors led by Alexey Vedev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, visited Bandar Seri Begawan last April. During official meetings and networking sessions, the business circles of our countries underlined the necessity to establish the Russia-Brunei Business Council, which will help facilitate trade and economic exchanges. We are looking forward to a reciprocal visit of the Bruneian business delegation to Russia during which the relevant agreement could be inked,” added the ambassador.
He stated that there is room for the enhancement of science and educational cooperation as their institutions of higher learning, including the St Petersburg State University, Moscow State University of International Relations and Federal Far Eastern University, are in the process of establishing partnership relations with Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). They are also laying foundations for collaboration between Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) and the Russian Council of Muftis.
“Currently, negotiation on two important documents are being finalised – the memorandum on mutual understanding between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam on cooperation in higher education and science as well as the intergovernmental visa waiver agreement. We are convinced that these documents will open a new era in the bilateral student, academic and tourist exchanges and look forward to their early signing,” he said.
A cake-cutting ceremony was later carried out and a brief slideshow displaying Russia-Brunei diplomatic relations was shown to members of the event.
The event concluded with the presentation of the tokens of appreciation to the Minister of Education and his spouse by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation.
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