Brunei hopes for greater cooperation with Indonesia

The Brunei Darussalam Embassy in Jakarta celebrated the 28th anniversary of the country’s National Day at the Hotel Shangri-La in Central Jakarta on Thursday evening.

In his reception speech, Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam for Indonesia Dato Paduka Mahmud congratulated Indonesia for conducting an outstanding achievement in chairing ASEAN last year.

“Under the initiative of [the Indonesia’s Foreign Minister] Dr. Marty Natalegawa, the joint commission of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Brunei was revived in Bali, July last year,” said Mahmud.

He said that the Bali event was an important milestone for both countries to elevate their cooperation in defense, education and social affairs.

“The embassy has been working closely with several agencies in Indonesia in seeking new grounds for economic cooperation in addition to continuing current social and economic cooperation,” he added.

Marty thanked Brunei for its comprehensive cooperation with Indonesia for the past years, which truly reflected a very happy and robust relationship.

Marty said he also assured the his counterpart that the government and the people of Indonesia were committed not only to maintaining the close relationship of the two countries, but also “to making a contribution to the region’s prosperity as well”.

As members of ASEAN, Marty underlined that to instill a sense of ownership, ASEAN should be more “people-centered” and “people-relevant”, meaning that events within or under the banner of the organization should involve more members of the public in the region instead of merely government officials.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Indonesian Military Commander Agus Suhartono and Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri were among guests at the party.