Japan-Brunei Relations
Audience with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam
October 9, 2023
On October 9, commencing at 2:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. Japan time) for approximately 20 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Brunei Darussalam, had an audience with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam. The overview is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Kamikawa stated that it would be a great honor to welcome His Majesty Sultan Bolkiah at the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit to be held in Tokyo in December, and that she would like to further deepen the longstanding bilateral relationship on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Brunei next year. His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah congratulated Minister Kamikawa for a recent appointment as Foreign Minister and welcomed Minister Kamikawa's visit to Brunei. His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah also stated that he was very pleased to see steady progress in the relations between the two countries and looked forward to attending the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit.
- Regarding Japan-Brunei relations, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah mentioned the longstanding amicable relationship between the two countries which has built on exchanges between the Imperial Family of Japan and the Royal Family of Brunei as well as LNG trade and also stated that he would further deepen cooperation on global challenges such as climate change as well as on people-to-people exchanges including tourism. In response, Minister Kamikawa expressed her hope that Japan would further strengthen cooperation with Brunei in the fields of energy and economy such as LNG trade and the realization of the "Asian Zero Emission Community" concept, people-to-people exchanges including through "JENESYS", as well as in the security and defense area, including defense exchange and maritime security.
- Lastly, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah expressed his satisfaction about the cooperative relations with Japan, which have been continuing consistently ever since before the independence of Brunei Darussalam. Minister Kamikawa stated that she was convinced that Japan and Brunei are true friends based on the longtime trust even though her stay in Brunei this time was very short. Both sides confirmed that they would work together towards the success of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit to be held in Tokyo in December and that the two countries would cooperate in further developing the bilateral relations through the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year.