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PM Lee to visit Brunei for Sultan Bolkiah’s golden jubilee

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong kicks off a three-day working visit to Brunei from Thursday (Oct 5) to attend the golden jubilee celebration of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s accession to the throne.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be in Brunei for a three-day working visit from Thursday (Oct 5) to attend the golden jubilee celebration of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s accession to the throne. Photo: TODAY file photo

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be in Brunei for a three-day working visit from Thursday (Oct 5) to attend the golden jubilee celebration of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s accession to the throne. Photo: TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong kicks off a three-day working visit to Brunei from Thursday (Oct 5) to attend the golden jubilee celebration of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s accession to the throne.

“Prime Minister Lee’s attendance at the golden jubilee celebration underscores the excellent and long-standing special relationship between Singapore and Brunei,” said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a statement.

It added that Mr Lee had previously attended Sultan Bolkiah’s silver jubilee celebration in October 1992, as then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry.

While in Brunei, Mr Lee will have a meeting with the Sultan before attending a royal banquet on Friday.  Regional leaders and royalty from other countries are also expected to attend the banquet.  

PM Lee will also meet the Singapore community in Bandar Seri Begawan and visit the Singapore Armed Forces’ soldiers training in the sultanate.

Singapore and Brunei enjoy a long-standing and multi-faceted relationship, with cooperation that spans the economic, defence, and educational spheres. Both countries also work closely together in multilateral forums such as the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean).

“Singapore and Brunei share a unique and special friendship built on close personal ties, mutual trust, and a common understanding of the challenges and insecurities of small countries,” President Halimah Yaacob wrote in a congratulatory letter to the Sultan this week, noting that Singapore was honoured to have hosted him on four state visits to the Republic since he acceded the throne in 1967.

She noted that Brunei has achieved remarkable growth and success under the Sultan’s reign over the last five decades. 

“Your Majesty led Brunei to independence in 1984 and, amidst challenges and uncertainties in the regional and global environment, built the peaceful and prosperous Brunei of today,” she wrote. “Your Majesty’s wise rule has enabled generations of Bruneians to live in peace and harmony, and to pursue their aspirations and reach their full potential. This is an enduring legacy.”

The Sultan’s last state visit to Singapore was in July in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement (CIA) between the two countries. To mark the milestone, Mr Lee and the Sultan had launched commemorative S$50 and B$50 notes.

The CIA was established in 1967 to promote bilateral monetary cooperation. Under the agreement, the monetary authorities of both nations will accept the currency issued by the other, and to exchange it at par and without charge, into their own currency.

Noting that both countries also celebrated 40 years of defence cooperation in 2016, Mdm Halimah wrote: “All these stand testament to the long-standing cooperation and level of trust between our two countries.

“With Your Majesty’s continued support, I am confident that Singapore and Brunei will continue to strengthen the firm foundation and special friendship between our two countries for many more decades to come.”

In a separate congratulatory letter, Mr Lee noted that Singapore and Brunei enjoy a “longstanding special friendship” founded on close friendships between their leaders, and sustained by their shared strategic outlook on many regional and international issues.

“Our bilateral relationship is multi-faceted, with many collaborations on defence, where Your Majesty has provided steadfast support for our armed forces’ training in Temburong; on the economy, where Singaporean companies are supporting Brunei’s economic diversification; and in Government, where we have regular public sector exchanges,” he said. 

“As small states with like-minded views, we also work closely in Asean to advance Asean unity and centrality.”

Mr Lee said he and his wife, Ms Ho Ching, “fondly recall” visiting Brunei for the Sultan’s silver jubilee celebrations. 

“It was a majestic and memorable event. Twenty-five years on, we are deeply honoured to be invited to witness yet another historic milestone in Your Majesty’s reign and in Brunei’s history.”

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