Pengiran Sahar Salleh, Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Vietnam (left) receives a hammer, which represents the Asean chairmanship, from Vietnamese PM Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. - VNA/VNS
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on Sunday (Nov 15) joined other Asean leaders for the handing over of the Asean Chairmanship to Brunei Darussalam, at the closing ceremony of the 37th Asean Summit held virtually via video conference from Baitul Mesyuarah, Istana Nurul Iman.
The closing ceremony began with remarks by Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyn Xuân Phúc as the Asean Chairman for 2020, who reiterated Asean’s strong commitment to multilateralism, dialogue, Asean centrality, and shaping an inclusive rules-based regional architecture.
The Asean Identity was emphasised in contributing to sustainable development of the region.
The conclusion and signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will further promote economic liberalisation and connectivity.
Vietnam expressed confidence in Brunei Darussalam’s chairmanship in 2021.
The monarch congratulated Nguyn Xuân Phúc and the government and people of Vietnam on successfully chairing of Aseanduring a very challenging year.
Despite the disruptions, Vietnam has guided Asean in fullfiling its promise of being “cohesive and responsive”. Brunei Darussalam will continue to advance regional recovery and community-building efforts.
Asean was formed over 50 years ago with a vision for a better and more peaceful future based on the shared understanding that Asean as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Integration, unity and solidarity, have and must continue to be the foundation of Asean’s relations in advancing together.
The sultan stated that as Chair in 2021, Brunei Darussalam will promote three fundamental areas, inspired by Asean's long history of development.
First, caring for our people and each other’s well-being. Second, preparing for future opportunities and challenges. Third, prospering together as a unified region.
In this spirit, the theme for Brunei Darussalam’s Chairmanship will be ‘We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper’.
These three fundamental areas will strengthen Asean's solidarity and reinforce Asean Centrality.
Moreover, it will accelerate efforts to recover from the pandemic and realise the ambitions of an inclusive Asean Community. To this end, the support and contributions of dialogue partners are important to help shape the regional outlook and Asean's post-2025 Vision.
At the end of the ceremony, the Asean leaders witnessed a video presentation by Brunei, revealing the theme and aspirations of Brunei Darussalam. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
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