| Lyna Mohamad |
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 maintains a close friendship with Japanese Emperor Akihito. His Majesty has visited Japan over 10 times and has met with Emperor Akihito on several occasions.
This was stated by Japanese Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Motohiko Kato during a reception for the Emperor’s birthday at the Indera Samudra Grand Hall of The Empire Hotel & Country Club last night.
Present as the guest of honour was the Minister of Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman and spouse.
The ambassador added that Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito has also maintained a strong friendship following his attendance at the royal wedding of His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office in 2004.
“The strong bonds that exist between the Japanese imperial family and the Brunei royal family provided a strong foundation for the bilateral relations between our two countries,” he added.
The ambassador also expressed appreciation for the country’s efforts as the Asean coordinating country for Japan from 2015 to 2018, adding that Japan hopes to continue cooperation to further contribute to regional stability and prosperity.
The ambassador noted that they have been deepening their friendship and cooperation in various areas with the people of Asean and hopes to further promote their strong ties.
“Economically, our two countries maintain strong bonds. Brunei supports Japan’s energy security by providing us with significant amounts of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). We would like to thank Brunei for supporting us in this endeavour over the last 40 years,” he said.
The ambassador highlighted several Japanese companies that have invested in Brunei and are generating employment and contributing to the diversification of the Bruneian economy such as the Brunei Methanol Company, VAM Brunei Company, MC Biotech and Tobishima Corporation.
While major international construction company, Tobishima, has managed the construction of many of Brunei’s most high profiles facilities, the Hydrogen Project is another innovative collaboration, which commences its construction phase in April next year with the project backed by cutting-edge Japanese technology.
He added that youth, sports and education exchanges between Japan and Brunei are very active and have been underpinned by the support of many people and organisations such as the Brunei Association of Japan Alumni, Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Programme and the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Programme.
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