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INVESTMENT POTENTIAL
Brunei Darussalam’s foreign policy
objective is to promote the country’s
national interests taking into account of
its situation and role in the region and
globally.
As described on the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) website, Brunei’s national
interests are to: maintain its sovereignty,
independence and territorial integrity;
preserve the political, cultural and
religious identity of the country; help
promote regional and global peace,
security, stability and prosperity; and
enhance the prosperity, economic and
social well-being of the country.
In the pursuit of these foreign policy
objectives, Brunei adheres to the
following guiding principles: mutual
respect for the territorial integrity,
sovereignty,
independence
and
national identity of all nations;
recognising the equality of all nations
large and small; adherence to the
principle of non-interference in
the internal affairs of other nations;
advocating peaceful settlement of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
disputes; and cooperating for mutual
benefit.
The approach taken by Brunei to
promote its foreign policy is through
bilateral and multilateral cooperation on
the basis of friendship, mutual respect
and peaceful co-existence.
This is carried out through: establishing
relations with countries who wish to
have friendly ties with Brunei; promoting
and strengthening bilateral and
multilateral cooperation in various fields
through the country’s participation in
sub-regional, regional and international
organisations; contributing towards
promoting peace, security, stability and
prosperity in the region, particularly
by fostering deeper understanding
among countries; adhering to the
United Nations Charter, the ASEAN
Charter, international law, universally
recognised principles of sovereignty
and the respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
BIMP-EAGA
Established in 1994, Brunei-Indonesia-
Malaysia-Philippines
East
ASEAN
Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is an
initiative to accelerate socio-economic
development in this sub-region. Brunei
is part of the close knit sub-regional
economic grouping of BIMP-EAGA with
a population of 75 million people.
During the 12
th
ASEAN-UN Summit in
Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November,
2022, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal
Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-
MarhumSultanHaji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien
Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and
Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam
underscored the importance of sub-
regional work, in which His Majesty
highlighted that the BIMP-EAGA
remains a significant growth area with
huge development, investment and
industrialisation potential. His Majesty
expressed his appreciation for the
Republic of Korea’s contribution to the
BIMP-EAGA-ROK Cooperation Fund
which will further socio-economic
progress.
Meanwhile, the 25
th
BIMP-EAGAMinisters’
Meeting held later that month welcomed
the improvement proposals fromtheMid-
Term Review (MTR) of the BIMP-EAGA
Vision2025 (BEV2025) asadriver towards
economic recovery and the achievement
of three main results: clean and
environmentally friendly manufacturing;
competitive and resilient agricultural and
fisheries industries to climate change;
and as a tourist destination of various
developed countries.
The MTR also suggested strengthening
the capacity of BIMP-EAGA institutions
to further improve coordination and
delivery of results in this sub-region.
The meeting also emphasised BIMP-
EAGA’s commitment to fully implement
BEV 2025. Also voiced was the need
for BIMP-EAGA to start creating the
foundations for the BIMP-EAGA Post
2025 agenda.