At a time when China’s aggressive posture in the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea where Brunei has a maritime claim, is rattling the region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the sultanate’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan Tuesday to hold bilateral talks with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Thursday on a range of issues — from commercial to cultural to defence ties. Officials said a working group on defence is also being explored. This is the first bilateral visit to Brunei by an Indian Prime Minister. Modi said he was looking forward to his meetings with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the royal family. “Landed in Brunei Darussalam. Looking forward to strong ties between our nations, especially in boosting commercial and cultural linkages. I thank Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah for welcoming me at the airport,” he said in a post on X. In his departure statement earlier in the day, Modi said he was embarking on a first-ever bilateral visit to Brunei Darussalam. “As we celebrate the 40 years of our diplomatic relations, I look forward to my meetings with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other esteemed members of the royal family to advance our historical relationship to new heights," he said. Brunei is an important partner in India’s ‘Act East’ Policy and Indo-Pacific Vision. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, who is the longest reigning monarch in the world and has been among the world’s richest for decades, has paid four visits to India so far — State visits to India in 1992 and 2008, and also attended the ASEAN-India commemorative summits in 2012 and 2018. On the last visit, he was also Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade along with other ASEAN leaders. Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “The Prime Minister will engage in bilateral discussions on all aspects of our bilateral relations and cooperation with Brunei and also explore new areas for cooperation… We share a very warm and friendly relationship with Brunei and our engagements cover multiple areas such as defence, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health, capacity building, culture and vibrant people-to-people exchanges.” The Indian diaspora in Brunei is about 14,000 and they comprise a substantial number of doctors and teachers who, he said, have earned goodwill and respect for their contributions to Brunei’s economy and society. “We have received valuable support from Brunei in our space programme. We have three MoUs with Brunei in this area. We established a Telemetry, Tracking and Command station in Brunei in 2000 and this tracks and monitors all our eastward launches of satellites and satellite launch vehicles. Defence is another important pillar in our bilateral cooperation. We have an MoU on defence, which was signed in 2016, and has since been renewed in 2021. It provides a framework for our collaboration that covers regular exchanges at high levels, Naval and Coast Guard ship exchange visits, training and joint exercises and participation in each other’s exhibitions. We are also working towards establishing a joint working group for cooperation in the area of defence,” Mazumdar said. There have been regular visits by Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships – ICGS Sagar in March 2014; INS Shakti in August 2014; INS Airavat in May 2016; INS Satpura in November 2017; ICGS Shaunak in January 2019. INS Jalashwa visited Brunei in May 2021 to bring back Covid relief donated by the Indian diaspora. INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt visited Muara Port in August 2021 for PASSEX with Brunei. Bruneian ship KDB Darulaman participated in MILAN 2012 (Andamans); and Royal Brunei Navy’s Ship KP 80 Daruttaqwa visited Mumbai in August 2014. Officials said Brunei is an important partner for India’s Act East policy and vision for the Indo-Pacific, and as India marks a decade of ‘Act East’ Policy this year, the visit assumes additional significance.
