Ambassador of France to Brunei Darussalam Bernard Regnauld-Fabre yesterday called for more French companies to invest in the Sultanate during the French Bruneian Business Association’s (FBBA) annual get-together.
“I wish to see more French companies visit and invest in the Sultanate, particularly for regional projects as explicitly expressed by 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 during His Majesty’s visit to Paris in October.
“His Majesty had extensive talks with President of France Emmanuel Macron and three weeks later, Special Representative of the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, for economic relations with ASEAN countries François Corbin visited Brunei and met with 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 to explore investment opportunities between the two countries.”
He added, “Corbin also met with FBBA and its president to better promote investment opportunities, which is a top priority for FBBA for 2024.”
FBBA president and General Manager of TotalEnergies EP (Brunei) BV Jerome Saniez said, “FBBA is the perfect mix of business and friendship. We have a lot to learn and exchange with each other. The FBBA will continue to foster the relationship between the two countries.”
Legislative Council member Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Suyoi bin Haji Osman delivered a speech via video touching on the Paris Agreement.
“After many rounds of negotiation, agreements were finally reached in 2015. This culminated at COP21 in Paris, followed by the drafting of the Paris Agreement,” he said, adding, “The first report of the agreement will be presented to the COP28 in Dubai.
“Article 14 of the agreement calls for the members to ‘periodically take stock of the implementation’ and ‘assess the collective progress’ of the agreement.
“There will be mention of more pledges, especially from developed countries, having failed to meet the target in 2019. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, developed countries contributed USD79.6 billion, around USD20 billion short of the USD100-billion target.” – James Kon
