By Fadzli Ramli
BANDAR SRI BEGAWAN, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- The closeness of the Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is an important catalyst for the close relationship between Brunei and Malaysia.
Chargé d'Affaires of the High Commission of Malaysia to Brunei Nur Ezira Mahadi said the close relationship between the two leaders could be seen when Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah agreed to go to Kuala Lumpur only four days after Anwar was sworn in as Prime Minister in 2022.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah left for Kuala Lumpur on Nov 28, 2022, after Anwar was sworn in as the 10th Prime Minister on Nov 24 2022.
Regarding Anwar's two-day visit to Brunei scheduled to start today, Nur Ezira said it was Anwar's third visit to the country since being appointed Prime Minister.
"The Prime Minister's maiden visit to Brunei Darussalam was in January last year, and in January this year, the Prime Minister went to Brunei again to attend the Royal Wedding," she told Bernama.
Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to arrive here at 10.25 tonight for a two-day working visit to Brunei in conjunction with the 25th Annual Malaysia-Brunei Leaders Consultation.
Nur Ezira said Anwar's visit to Brunei this time is also special because it is in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Brunei, and the members of the Prime Minister's delegation, which included ministers and deputy ministers, again showed the closeness of the relationship between the two countries.
According to her, the close relationship between these two countries also provides advantages for Sabah and Sarawak, especially from the aspect of economic cooperation since the two Malaysian states are neighbours with Brunei.
"Economic cooperation is particularly good, during this visit as there will also be some announcements made and we pray that there will be something for Sabah and Sarawak later," she said.
Meanwhile, Nur Ezira said, in the first five months of this year (January to May), the total trade between the two countries reached RM3.53 billion (USD0.75 billion).
Brunei and Malaysia's trade value last year amounted to RM9.31 billion (USD2.04 billion), making Brunei Malaysia's sixth largest trading partner among ASEAN member countries and the 30th largest in the world.
-- BERNAMA
