Sultan Hassanal chatting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 21st Asean-India Summit. - Photo: Infofoto
VIENTIANE: His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, together with leaders of Asean; Timor-Leste, Australia and India, attended the 4th Asean-Australia Summit; and 21st Asean-India Summit on Thursday (Oct 10).
The summits were held at the National Convention Centre, Vientiane, Laos.
Accompanying Sultan Hassanal was His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen.
4th Asean-Australia Summit
At the 4th Asean-Australia Summit, His Majesty delivered a titah expressing appreciation for the progress towards implementing the “Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040”, in particular the appointment of Business Champions and Investment Deal Teams to increase two-way trade.
Hence, Asean and Australia need to continue working together to address global challenges to achieve shared goals for a better and more secure future.
Sultan Hassanal also highlighted that climate change is one such challenge, causing more frequent and extreme weather events, damaging infrastructure and disrupting agricultural activities.
According to the Asian Development Bank, food security is at risk as crop productivity in the region is projected to reduce by up to 50 per cent by 2050. To this end, His Majesty underscored the need to work closely together to build resilience through practices, policies and research in various industries.
Sultan Hassanal looked forward to Australia’s continued support for the Asean Centre for Climate Change in Brunei Darussalam, which will strengthen regional preparedness and responses to climate-related emergencies.
During the summit, leaders reaffirmed that Australia is an important partner of Asean, to spur opportunities for new jobs and investment to benefit businesses and thus further increase regional trade.
With a shared vision of achieving peace and prosperity, Asean and Australia are committed to building stronger defence links and people-to-people exchanges through education and involvement of the youth.
21st Asean-India Summit
At the 21st Asean-India Summit, Sultan Hassanal in a titah noted that, for over a millennium, Southeast Asian nations and India have shared ties in trade and culture, contributing to naturally strong bonds of friendship.
This has become the foundation for fostering close cooperation and led to the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
As the current global landscape is marked by rapid transformation and unprecedented challenges, Sultan Hassanal underscored that the digital revolution offers great promise as well as risks.
Therefore, it is important to prepare the people to adapt to technological changes, especially the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which make up at least 90 per cent of businesses, and are the engines of innovation and inclusive growth.
In this regard, Sultan Hassanal urged the Asean-India Business Council to take the lead in organising more interactions between MSMEs in Asean and India.
These interactions, alongside digital skills training, will enhance the resilience of MSMEs and equip them to thrive in today’s tech-driven world.
At the summit, Asean leaders expressed appreciation towards India’s continued support for Asean through its Act East Policy, and encouraged for the further deepening of Asean-India ties in mutually beneficial areas including maritime cooperation, food security, cybersecurity and digital transformation. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
