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 yesterday welcomed President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the 3rd ASEAN-Russia Summit at the Suntec Convention Centre in Singapore, saying that his commitment in enhancing the partnership over the years was much appreciated.
His Majesty also praised Russia’s support for multilateralism and regional architecture, especially in the face of emerging global challenges.
His Majesty then highlighted two areas for further joint collaboration between ASEAN and Russia, “First, it is important to strengthen the cooperation in addressing terrorism and violent extremism, as they remain serious threats for all countries.
“The law enforcement and intelligence agencies need to increase their coordination and exchange information, so as to effectively deal with these challenges.
“Such efforts will create a more secure and stable environment, and thereby generate greater confidence for further economic development and growth.
“Second, with the growing uncertainties nowadays, it is essential to strengthen our economic cooperation further. I welcome the signing of the ASEAN-Eurasian Economic Commission Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation. This would bring about greater opportunities to enhance trade and investment flows as well as complementing ASEAN’s Free Trade Agreements and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).”
His Majesty then concluded the titah by stating his firm conviction that ASEAN and Russia would go on to build a solid and enduring partnership.
Earlier, His Majesty had consented to join leaders of ASEAN and Vladimir Putin for a group photo session.
The summit then began with opening remarks by Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore and the Chairman of ASEAN Lee Hsien Loong, who welcomed Vladimir Putin.
This was followed by a statement from Vladimir Putin.
Lee Hsien Loong then invited President of the Republic of Indonesia and the Country Coordinator of ASEAN-Russia relations Joko Widodo to convey the ASEAN common statement.
After the ASEAN-Russia Summit, His Majesty and other ASEAN Heads of State and Government, together with other leaders, attended the signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Commission on Economic Cooperation.
Signing on behalf of the ASEAN member states was Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi while the Eurasian Economic Commission was represented by Chairman Tigran Sargsyan.
Following the signing ceremony, His Majesty attended the 20th ASEAN-Japan Summit.
Before the summit, His Majesty consented to join other leaders of ASEAN and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe for a group photo session.
The ASEAN-Japan Summit began with opening remarks by Lee Hsien Loong, who welcomed Shinzo Abe.
This was followed by a statement from Shinzo Abe.
The Chairman of ASEAN also invited Prime Minister of Vietnam and the Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Japan Nguyen Xuan Phuc to deliver the ASEAN common statement.
At this summit, His Majesty stated his pleasure with the progress being made in the 45 years of ASEAN-Japanese friendship and cooperation.
“Brunei Darussalam sees much potential in further enhancing the economic cooperation, where there is more to be done to ensure the people and businesses are able to take advantage of the recent advancements in technology,” said His Majesty. “ASEAN must also implement the ‘ASEAN-Japan Fourth Industrial Revolution’ initiative, which will help digitalise and build the capacity of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“As more people become interconnected through the Internet, it is also important to strengthen security cooperation especially in the areas of cyber security.”
His Majesty also welcomed greater cooperation in capacity-building and intelligence sharing activities through platforms such as the ASEAN-Japan Cybercrime Dialogue, which will be hosted in Brunei Darussalam next year.
His Majesty then praised Japan’s leading role in advocating people-to-people exchanges. “Programmes such as the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) are important in promoting awareness among the people on the benefits that the partnership can bring, and I hope that these programmes will continue.”
His Majesty concluded the titah by expressing his confidence that the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership would continue to be more dynamic and mutually beneficial for the people.