| James Kon |
RUSSIA and Brunei Darussalam have yet to fully utilise the big potential exists for bettering bilateral cooperation, said the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Brunei Darussalam Vladlen Semivolos.
In a speech while paying a courtesy visit to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Bandar Seri Begawan (CCC BSB) yesterday, he said his embassy is eager to work with the local trade community including the Chinese Chamber to establish links with the Russian business community.
“When I first arrived in Brunei in 2015, our trade with Brunei was B$25 million because of the contract between Brunei Petroleum with one of our oil producing companies. But, that contract has ended and now the trade is somewhere around one million dollars which is very low considering the potential of both countries hold.
“I would like to expand our trade relationship by utilising the full potential of both countries. We have lots of opportunities and established trade relations with our neighbours – China, South Korea, Japan as well as Europe, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. The overall trade with Asean member countries now stands at $25-30 billion, but this is not enough as Russia and Asean have the potential to further bringing the trade volume to a higher level. Therefore, we need to further strengthen the strong relationship between our trading communities.”
“We don’t have much communication and we should organise a get-together with traders of Brunei and Russia to overcome this,” the envoy said.
Touching on diplomatic relationship, he said, “Brunei Darussalam and Russia has achieved many milestones together that solidified our relationship, especially in the field of education and culture. We have signed agreements on cooperation in the field of education and culture, apart from the visa accord. Just two weeks ago, we signed an agreement on intellectual property protection.”
He revealed that a Russian company which indulges in oil slug cleanup will be establishing its headquarters in Brunei. “In addition, we are also working with the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism to establish a vegetable farm in Brunei for catering to domestic consumption and export,” he added.
Meanwhile, Malcom Lim, the President of CCC BSB, gave a brief introduction on the chamber’s activities during his welcoming speech.
“Our core activities are focussed on enhancing and promoting business development in the country and underpinning the economic growth of the nation, to promote social welfare, education and culture, act as an intermediary between the government, private sector and foreign business entities and enhance cooperation between key stakeholders in the trade community,” he said.
“The association also participates in local and national celebrations as well as organises trade missions and promotes trade to strengthen regional and international business relationships.
“We look forward to uncovering common interests between our two countries and explore business opportunities, cultural exchanges and many other areas where we can achieve sustainable growth.”
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