Azlan Othman
The bilateral ties between Brunei Darussalam and the State of Kuwait are “strong and exceptional” and have been strengthened in various levels and areas, said Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Brunei Darussalam Salah Mubarak Musleh Al-Mutairi in a message extended in conjunction with Kuwait’s 61st National Day and 31st Liberation Day.
The ambassador continued, “The State of Kuwait ushers in its 61st National Day and 31st Liberation Day in a joyous atmosphere full of patriotism. Under the era of His Highness Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwait has begun a historic period of progress towards a prosperous future, in completion of efforts started by his predecessors.”
He affirmed that Kuwait continues its long-standing policy in terms of respecting sovereignty of other countries, and avoids interfering in their domestic affairs, sticking to international legitimacy, maintaining international security and peace, and settling the conflicts among countries through dialogue and peaceful ways.
“In this regard, I avail myself of this opportunity to convey my heartfelt congratulations to His Highness Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the government and the people of Kuwait on this glorious occasion.”
The ambassador shared that in its quest towards diversifying the economy, Kuwait continues to carry out necessary reforms to encourage more foreign direct investments on a range of key sectors such as clean energy, technology and innovation.
Kuwait Vision 2035 offers a range of exciting opportunities for international investors, the ambassador added, such as Kuwait International Airport expansion project, which includes the new state-of-the-art Terminal 2 and the construction of the runway.
To spur economic growth, Kuwait further expands its spending to nearly USD15.6 billion on key projects across different sectors such as housing, transport, electricity, ports, aviation, telecommunications and renewable energy, the ambassador noted.
The sustained investment in such major projects underscores the continued commitment of the government to achieving the objectives of the New Kuwait 2035, and establishing Kuwait as a regional trade and financial centre.
He added, “In this regard, Kuwait welcomes Bruneian investors who wish to explore
these opportunities.”
On bilateral ties, the ambassador said, “As we approach the 32nd anniversary of establishing the diplomatic relations between Brunei Darussalam and the State of Kuwait, both countries are on the cusp of lifting their relationships to new heights.
“The relations are continuously taking steady steps forward and as a result, the bilateral ties have been strengthened in various areas and levels. Although, diplomatic relations
officially began on May 1, 1990, ties have existed earlier than this date.
“As time went by, the cordial ties witnessed great cooperation in various fields underlining that there are still potential for both sides to create more opportunities and open
new horizons.”
He continued, “Maintaining cordial relations over three decades demonstrates how our bilateral relations have been so strong and exceptional.
“We have very strong government-to-government, people-to-people ties. I hope these ties would further be strengthened at a faster pace, as there are many opportunities galore to utilise and translate to valuing cooperation for the betterment and interests of both sides.”
The ambassador said that in view of the recent reciprocal high-profile visits, the bilateral ties have always been characterised by close cooperation and mutual respect.
“In this context, it would be remiss of me not to recall the official visit of 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 to the State of Kuwait in 2015. And the first-ever state visit of late Amir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah to Brunei Darussalam in 2016.”
The ambassador highlighted that the two visits have provided impetus for closer ties, which culminated on signing a lieu of agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) that demonstrate the strong and historic deep-rooted relations between the two brotherly countries. He added that the pacts provided untapped opportunities that existed in many areas of cooperation.
“We truly believe that both states would benefit from those agreements, which we consider a milestone in our wise relationships aimed at boosting bilateral ties to wider domains and higher levels of cooperation.”
The envoy further shared that despite the pandemic, efforts are still ongoing to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
“We look forward to the early convening of the 4th Brunei Darussalam – Kuwait Joint Committee Meeting (BKJCM),” he said. “We believe that BKJCM continues to be a vehicle for the bilateral cooperation as it provides structure to pursue shared objectives in important fields of cooperation including economy, trade and investment, education, Oil and Gas to name but a few.”
“In view of the current challenging circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, we expect BKJCM officials to exchange ideas, views and experiences in many topics including Brunei’s approach to control and curb the spread of COVID-19 and other aspects related to vaccines and treatments. The last BKJCM was hosted by Brunei Darussalam and the next meeting would be held in Kuwait once this pandemic is over, and hopefully it would be in person if the situation permits.”
“Furthermore, we also hope for the first convening of the Joint Commission for Cooperation, co-chaired by the honorable foreign ministers, which have been established to strengthen existing ties and to build on and promote bilateral relations.”
As the ambassador explained, the Joint Commission is to be held on a regular basis and has been tasked, among others, to follow up on implementation of agreements and cooperation programmes.
“Kuwait is eager to develop and promote cooperation with Brunei Darussalam, a signatory country to RCEP and CPTPP, on all levels, particularly on economic cooperation,” he said.
“We affirm our country’s keenness in developing and expanding bilateral ties with Brunei in various fields to ensure real strategic relationship. There is a desire to move forward in promoting various areas of cooperation as both nations share a common aspirations to elevate this cooperation to a wider scope in line with the directions of our leaderships who look forward to further strengthening and boosting the bilateral ties at diverse levels.”
“Against the backdrop of the cordial ties, we believe that our bilateral relations are on an upward trajectory, which in turn, would help to bring common goals to fruition. I really look forward to build on the strong momentum of our bilateral ties that have been created over the years for the interests of our two friendly countries.”
Concluding, the ambassador said, “I wish to extend my kindest congratulations to His Majesty, the government and the people of Brunei Darussalam on their 38th National Day as well as on Brunei’s successful chairmanship of ASEAN in 2021.”
The envoy said, “It would be remiss of me not to recall the official visit of 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 to the State of Kuwait in 2015. And the first-ever state visit of late Emir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Brunei Darussalam in 2016.”
The ambassador highlighted that the two visits have provided impetus for closer ties, which culminated with the signings of a lieu of agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) that demonstrate the strong and historic deep-rooted relations between the two brotherly countries.
He added that the pacts provided untapped opportunities that existed in many areas
of cooperation.
“We truly believe that both states would benefit from those agreements, which we consider a milestone in our wise relationships aimed at boosting bilateral ties to wider domains and higher levels of cooperation.”
The envoy further shared that despite the pandemic, efforts are still ongoing to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
“We look forward to the early convening of the 4th Brunei Darussalam-Kuwait Joint Committee Meeting (JCM),” he said. “We believe that JCM continues to be a vehicle for bilateral cooperation as it provides the structure to pursue shared objectives in important fields of cooperation including economy, trade and investment, education, and oil and gas, to name a few.”
The ambassador said, “In view of the current challenging circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, we expect JCM officials to exchange ideas, views and experiences in many topics including Brunei’s approach to control and curb the spread of COVID-19 and other aspects related to vaccines and treatments. The last JCM was hosted by Brunei and the next meeting will be held in Kuwait once the pandemic is over, hopefully in person if the situation permits.
“We also hope for the first convening of the Joint Commission for Cooperation, co-chaired by the honourable foreign ministers, which have been established to strengthen existing ties and to build on and promote bilateral relations.”
The ambassador shared that the joint commission is to be held on a regular basis and has been tasked, among others, to follow up on implementation of agreements and cooperation programmes.
“Kuwait is eager to develop and promote cooperation with Brunei Darussalam, a signatory country to RCEP and CPTPP, on all levels, particularly on economic cooperation. We affirm our country’s keenness in developing and expanding bilateral ties with Brunei in various fields to ensure real strategic relationship. There is a desire to move forward in promoting various areas of cooperation as both nations share a common aspirations to elevate this cooperation to a wider scope in line with the directions of our leaderships.
“We believe that our bilateral relations are on an upward trajectory, which in turn, would help to bring common goals to fruition. I really look forward to build on the strong momentum of our bilateral ties that have been created over the years for the interests of our two friendly countries.
“I wish to extend my kindest congratulations to His Majesty, the government and the people of Brunei Darussalam on their 38th National Day as well as on Brunei’s successful chairmanship of ASEAN in 2021.”
