Prime Minister John Howard and His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam today reaffirmed the strength and vitality of the bilateral relationship between Australia and Brunei Darussalam.
Before their formal discussion at Parliament House today, the Prime Minister extended a particular welcome to His Majesty on the occasion of his first State Visit to Australia. The Prime Minister and His Majesty then went on to discuss a broad range of bilateral and regional issues, canvassing the political, economic and security agendas.
Both leaders emphasised the very warm and longstanding people-to-people links that exist between Brunei Darussalam and Australia. The Prime Minister welcomed the growing number of Bruneian students studying in Australia. His Majesty likewise noted the positive contribution of the Australian community in Brunei, particularly in endeavours such as education, aviation and construction. On bilateral education links, the two Leaders welcomed recent visits to Australia by senior Brunei education officials and agreed further avenues for strengthening ties should be explored, including scope for cooperation in physical education and sports studies.
The Prime Minister and His Majesty acknowledged the strong and enduring cooperation between Australia and Brunei on defence, security and law enforcement matters. In recognition of mutual efforts to strengthen and expand that cooperation to combat international terrorism, both Leaders applauded the signing today of a Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation to Combat International Terrorism.
The Prime Minister and His Majesty emphasised the close defence links between the two countries, which includes regular exercises. Following the release of Brunei's first Defence White Paper last year, Leaders agreed it would now be timely to examine ways in which both countries could work more effectively to support its implementation. The Prime Minister welcomed advice that the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces would take up an invitation extended by his Australian counterpart, General Cosgrove, to visit Australia shortly to explore specific avenues for such cooperation.
The Prime Minister and His Majesty noted the longstanding and positive economic and investment links between the two countries and that two-way trade totalled nearly A$700 million in 2003. Leaders noted that in 2004 Australia was the largest export destination for Brunei's crude petroleum exports which, at 20% of Brunei's output, represented some 8% of Australia's crude import requirements (by value). The leaders welcomed the growth in air links between the two countries, with Royal Brunei Airlines' recent commencement of flights between Sydney and Brunei in addition to previous routes to Brisbane, Perth and Darwin.
The Prime Minister and His Majesty also welcomed the participation of BHP Billiton Ltd in offshore oil and gas exploration in Brunei and the involvement of Incitec Pivot in a consortium seeking to build a US$620 million ammonia/urea plant in Brunei.
In terms of future economic cooperation, the Prime Minister and His Majesty agreed officials should examine ways in which Australia and Brunei could develop a niche, high-quality, halal export industry. This would seek to combine Australia's reputation as a producer of fresh, high quality food products with Brunei's stringent halal certification standards.
The Prime Minister and His Majesty recorded mutual appreciation for the strong working relationship both countries share in international fora such as APEC and the Commonwealth. The Prime Minister expressed his particular appreciation for Brunei's support of Australian regional engagement, most recently Brunei's active role in securing a decision to negotiate an ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
On other regional matters, the Prime Minister and His Majesty reaffirmed their commitment to assist those countries affected by the recent tsunami, and noted the respective responses of both countries. In so doing, the Prime Minister congratulated His Majesty and Brunei's armed forces on Brunei's first ever humanitarian mission, which was to assist in relief efforts in Aceh.