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 chaired several meetings on the second day of the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and related Summits held virtually via video conferences from Baitul Mesyuarah, Istana Nurul Iman. Yesterday morning, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam as the ASEAN Chair for 2021 chaired the the 24th ASEAN-Japan Summit. At the said Summit, His Majesty in a titah encourages the Japan International Cooperation Agency to continue developing programmes to build the capacity of the people to address current issues such as cybersecurity, in view of the uncertainties faced as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Such initiatives, His Majesty says, will contribute towards building greater human security and resilience in the region to safeguard the peoples’ shared progress, development and prosperity. The Monarch highlights that over the years, Japan has been an invaluable partner to ASEAN and has helped ASEAN develop and progress in many areas. His Majesty acknowledges Japan’s support and assistance for the region in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through the contribution of vaccines to ASEAN Member States, including Brunei Darussalam.
Meanwhile, His Excellency Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan welcomed the opportunity to raise ASEAN-Japan relations to new stages with a proposed Special ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in 2023 to celebrate 50 years of friendship and cooperation. In the period of post-pandemic recovery, His Excellency encouraged to further enhance cooperation in climate change, health, disaster risk reduction, digital transformation and quality infrastructure investment.
His Excellency Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand as Country Coordinator of ASEAN-Japan Dialogue Relations delivered the ASEAN Common Statement, among other things, supported the stepping up of collaborations in public health; increased cooperation in transnational crime, counter-terrorism, and cybersecurity; improvements to the regional supply chain as well as enhancement of regional connectivity and partnership in socio-cultural linkages.
Source: Radio Television Brunei