| Lyna Mohamad |
MINISTER at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, was the guest of honour yesterday, at the oath taking ceremony of members of the Brunei-China One Belt One Road Association at the Tarindak D’Seni Restaurant in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Also in attendance was the Ambassador of the Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam Yang Jian.
The event began with a calligraphy demonstration by Chui Cheng Sun and a cultural performance, followed with welcoming remarks by the event chairman and President of the Brunei-China One Belt One Road Association Jackson Ting.
In his remarks, Ting pointed out that the establishment of the association, officially approved by the Brunei Registrar of Societies on October 20, carries the vision of making a positive contribution through China’s One Belt, One Road Initiatives to promote Brunei’s socio-economic development.
“Hence, our mission is to establish a platform in order to encourage and foster business, trade, investments and cultural exchanges between Brunei and China,” he said.
On how this group of Brunei SME leaders can make a difference for the economic development of Brunei Darussalam, Ting said that the time has come for Brunei businesses to venture into new fields of economic activity, while also investing in training and nurturing new skills to help Brunei’s diversification into a knowledge based economy.
“In doing this, local businesses will need to think differently and collaborate together; then, only they can become worthy partners in business or project ventures with their foreign partners, to receive both the investments and the transfer of know-how, where the association can identify a road map to train and eventually match local skill sets with Chinese investments,” he said.
“Local business leaders must also act responsibly to meet Brunei’s laws and regulations, and be sensitive to the culture and norms of Brunei. As an association, they can be the local guide to ensure that Chinese foreign direct investments meet the expectation of local laws and regulations, and also promote harmony with Brunei Vision 2035.”
Ting further pointed out that, as local business leaders and citizens of the world, they bear the responsibility of ensuring that economic development in Brunei does not come with pollution and environmental destruction.
“We have, in our founding members, business leaders and professionals who care deeply about this to do their part, so that the One Belt, One Road activity in this region lives up to its vision for the benefit of the countries taking part,” he said.
“On this note, I am very pleased to announce that through the tireless work of its founding members, the association has also secured two academic scholarships for local Bruneians to study in Guanxi China Northern Bay University.
“I believe this is just of the many promising activities that the association will promote in the years to come,” he said.
The swearing-in ceremony for the acceptance of posts within the association was witnessed by Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew and Yang Jian.
Later, the minister presented Appointment Letters to the association’s advisors.
The minister also witnessed seven signing events at the ceremony: the Cooperation Agreement between E Oceanic Products Sdn Bhd and Guangxi Nanyang Marine Technology Co Ltd; the signing of the Scholarship Agreement from Guanxi Beibu Gulf University; a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the International Kids Week; an MoU between Block Chain Technology and Halal Product Platform; and an MoU on the Brunei-China Tourist Strategic Cooperation.
The ceremony also witnessed the signing of an MoU between the China Educational Channel (CECTV) and the Brunei-China One Belt One Road Association, for the establishment of the Brunei Office and International Communication University; and an MoU for CECTV to award scholarships to Brunei’s Ministry of Education.