Meeting between Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam
November 5, 2009
Japanese
- On November 5 (Thu), Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Japan, had a meeting with His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam, at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs for about 30 minutes from 6 p.m. Minister Bolkiah was
visiting Japan to attend the Conferment of the Grand Cordon of the Order
of the Rising Sun.
- Minister Okada congratulated Minister Bolkiah for the conferment of
the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun based on his achievements
promoting friendship between Japan and Brunei, as well as facilitating understanding
of Japan in Brunei Darussalam. Minister Bolkiah stated, “It is an honor
to have been able to meet Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, as well
as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. I hope that this conferment proves to
be an opportunity to further develop bilateral relations.”
- Minister Okada said that he hoped to further develop the economic relationship
between the two countries through the utilization of the Japan-Brunei Economic
Partnership Agreement. Minister Bolkiah said, “Japan is an important trading
partner, and we hope for further investment from Japan. We are also looking
forward to Japan’s role in the ASEAN integration.” In response, Minister
Okada referred to Brunei’s efforts regarding the BIMP East ASEAN Growth
Area. Minister Bolkiah explained Brunei’s efforts and expressed his expectation
for Japan’s participation. Minister Okada also stated that, “The Hatoyama
Administration is focused on building an East Asian Community, and we must
discuss the concrete content of the concept. Our basic idea is that cooperation
in the fields of the environment, energy and people-to-people exchange will
bring further abundance to areas with growth ability.” Minister Bolkiah
welcomed Japan’s views.
- Minister Okada said, “To Japan, Brunei is an important provider of
liquefied natural gas （LNG),” and pointed out the importance of stable
LNG provision, based on a longterm relationship of mutual trust between
the two countries. In response, Minister Bolkiah said, “the relationship
between Japan and Brunei in the energy field is a favorable one, and we
hope to build a relationship that is beneficial for both countries.”
- In closing, Minister Bolkiah invited Minister Okada to visit Brunei, and Minister Okada said that he would like to visit when circumstances allowed.
(END)
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