Toast Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the State Banquet in Honour of Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah

Your Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah,

Your Royal Highnesses,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Your Majesty and Your Royal Highnesses to Singapore. I am delighted for this opportunity to reciprocate the warm and kind hospitality that Your Majesty had graciously accorded me during my State Visit to Brunei Darussalam in 2018.

This is Your Majesty's fifth State Visit to Singapore, with the first visit taking place over three decades ago in 1990. This visit represents the highpoint of a series of high-level exchanges between Singapore and Brunei following the re-opening of our respective borders. Last month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Ms Ho Ching attended Your Majesty’s 76^th birthday celebration.

This was followed by the recent visit of the Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah to Singapore, and the resumption of the 8^th Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders’ Programme after a hiatus of three years due to the pandemic. These exchanges have served to deepen our strong bilateral relationship, and demonstrate a clear desire on both sides to forge new paths of cooperation. They are truly a testament to the special relationship shared by Singapore and Brunei.

Your Majesty,

As Your Majesty celebrates your 55^th year as the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei, the integral role that Your Majesty has played in nurturing and sustaining the Singapore-Brunei relationship cannot be overstated. It is due to Your Majesty’s unstinting support that we have been able to build on the solid foundation first laid by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Your Majesty’s father, the late Seri Begawan. Our bilateral relations have grown from strength to strength ever since. Bound by close cultural and people-to-people links, there is much more that we can do together.

Our bilateral relations are underpinned by our longstanding defence and economic cooperation. We remain grateful for Brunei’s provision of jungle training areas to the Singapore Armed Forces, where generations of our soldiers have trained. Economically, the Currency Interchangeability Agreement established in 1967 remains a shining symbol of our mutual trust and deep interdependence.

We have also benefited from Your Majesty's wise leadership in maintaining regional peace and stability. As the ASEAN Chair last year, Brunei capably steered ASEAN through the choppy waters of COVID-19 to build a more resilient family of nations. Under the theme “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper”, Brunei has brought ASEAN closer to our goal of building a people-centric, inclusive, and forward-looking region.

As the two smallest countries in ASEAN, we have shared a strong and natural affinity from the very outset. By standing shoulder to shoulder, our strong partnership has amplified our voices on the regional and international stages. It has also helped us flourish as two sovereign nations which our peoples can be proud of.

Your Majesty,

Singapore does not take its special bond with Brunei for granted. We remain deeply committed to our relationship. This was particularly evident when our two countries worked closely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which had tested governments and societies around the world. Be it on vaccines, supply chains, or connectivity, we have supported each other in weathering the storm together and have emerged stronger.

As we take our bilateral relationship to new heights, we are mindful of the common challenges that lay ahead. I am therefore pleased to note that our countries have signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on the side-lines of Your Majesty’s State Visit. These MOUs will establish new important avenues of cooperation in areas of mutual strategic interest.

First, the MOU on Cooperation in Energy and Green Economy will spur our work in areas such as energy transition, carbon capture and storage, as well as carbon trading.

Second, the MOU on Strengthening Trade and Investment Cooperation in Food and Medical Products will enhance transhipment logistics and stockpiling of critical products in our two countries.

Third, the MOU on Brunei Darussalam-Singapore Youth Education Scholarship will strengthen the linkages between our next generation by supporting more young Bruneians to study in Singapore. This harkens back to the earlier days of our relationship when past generations of Bruneians studied in Singapore under the Asrama Kerajaan Brunei Singapura (AKBS) programme.

Fourth, the MOU on Cooperation in Public Service Capacity Development will bring our two civil services closer together and facilitate the exchange of best governance practices.

We also intend to continue to leverage important existing bilateral platforms, such as the Young Leaders’ Programme, to strengthen ties at the leadership level. I was very happy to have had the opportunity to meet His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah and Her Royal Highness Princess Pengiran Anak Sarah again, during the Young Leaders’ Programme earlier this month. Over lunch, we had a fruitful discussion about how to further strengthen our multifaceted partnership. I am heartened that some of the ideas discussed during His Royal Highness’ visit have been translated into the MOUs that were signed earlier today. I look forward to these MOUs bringing tangible benefits to our two countries and peoples, especially the younger generation.

Your Majesty,

In a world increasingly beset by geopolitical competition, uncertainty and fault lines, Singapore and Brunei have endured as havens of peace and stability. We have defied the odds to succeed. As small countries, we must continue to stay united, while being nimble, open, and connected to the rest of the world.

To that end, I have the utmost confidence that with Your Majesty’s benevolent leadership and unwavering support, the best days of the Brunei-Singapore relationship are yet to come.

Your Majesty

Excellencies

Ladies and Gentlemen

May I now invite you to rise and join me in a toast:

To the continued good health, happiness, and success of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah; and

To the special and everlasting friendship between Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.