Indonesia, Brunei nurture strong ties

INDONESIA expressed the need for cooperation with Brunei Darussalam to play the roles in various developments in the regional and global arena.

The statement was made by the new Indonesia Ambassador to Brunei Handriyo Kusumo Priyo, after presenting his letter of credentials to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam at Istana Nurul Iman yesterday.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, Handriyo said that the bilateral ties between the two countries have been flourishing in the areas of economic, trade and social culture. Both nations, he added, also develop cooperation on climate change, environment, and energy security as well as food security.

"Indonesia is expecting to continue cooperation with Brunei Darussalam in the regional and international spectrums which will contribute to the advancement of global peace, stability and welfare," he said.

"I'm confident that Indonesia and Brunei will march side by side on the road to progress and contribute significantly to the economic development of the region," he added.

He said that during the audience, His Majesty expressed best wishes to Indonesia, reiterated the close affinity that Indonesia and Brunei enjoy and thanked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the people of Indonesia for the warm welcome the monarch received during several visits to the country last year.

"His Majesty hopes that the bilateral ties and cooperation that are already strong between the two countries should be well-maintained and enhanced for the years to come," he said.

The envoy said that Indonesia has always been open to new agreements with Brunei the benefit peoples of both countries.

"Indeed it is heartening also to know that the bilateral cooperation has continued to develop for the common interest of the two countries and for the benefit of the international community," he said, adding that this has been evidenced by the fact that Brunei shows great interest in, understanding of and sympathy for Indonesia's development efforts as well cooperation in various international fora.

Before his new post in Brunei Handriyo was the director general for protocol and consular affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and the country's Chief of State Protocol. He has been assigned to other overseas missions such as in New York, Geneva, Moscow and Los Angeles.

Brunei and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1984. Since then, they have developed bilateral cooperation in several areas including communications, broadcasting, technical cooperation as well as religious affairs.

Brunei is Indonesia's reliable friend and neighbour for its participation in the Aceh Monitoring Mission, which is the key instrument that helped end the more-than-three-decades-old conflict in Aceh. Brunei has been also supporting Indonesia on the occasion of Bali Democracy Forum, that brings together countries in Asia to exchange views about democracy.

The Brunei Times