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 arrived in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday to attend the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation until tomorrow.
Accompanying His Majesty was His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen.
Upon arrival at Tokyo Haneda International Airport, His Majesty was welcomed by Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Masahiro Komura; Chief of Protocol (Ambassador) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Takehiro Shimada and Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam Maeda Toru.
Also present to greet His Majesty on arrival were Minister of Foreign Affairs II Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Erywan bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd Yusof and Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Japan Haji Shahbudin bin Haji Musa.
Since the establishment of the ASEAN-Japan Dialogue Relations in 1973, ASEAN-Japan relations have made remarkable progress including the establishment of the ASEAN-Japan Centre; the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) and the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS). To celebrate the milestone, ASEAN and Japan agreed to designate this year as the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and encouraged people-to-people exchanges by organising commemorative events as well as exchange programmes in various fields including economy, culture, youth exchanges and tourism throughout the year.
