Brunei warns against potential deglobalisation in post-pandemic recovery

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 1 (Xinhua): One of the major concerns facing Brunei's post-pandemic economic recovery efforts is the potential deglobalisation of the world, Mohd Amin Liew, the country's minister at the Prime Minister's Office has announced.

In his speech when officially launching the first-ever Economy Week, Mohd Amin Liew, also the Second Minister of Finance and Economy, said the South-East Asian country is concerned about a potential deglobalization, as the world economy is likely to split into separate blocs when trying to recover from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

"Together with the rest of the Asean region, Brunei is very much dependent on cross-border investment for its economic growth and development. In fact, investment is an essential element of the overall economic integration efforts in Asean," the minister said.

"These developments propel us, as an open economy that is fully dependent on trade, to leverage on our bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding," the minister said.

"It is in this spirit that Brunei remains keen to continue engaging and strengthening its relations with our regional and international partners, in mutually beneficial areas."

"Protectionism of trade and investment will only worsen the uncertain situation that we are facing today," the minister said.

"Being a small economy that is dependent on imports for its consumption and inputs, we will continue to advocate for an open economy with a stable, transparent and mutually beneficial multilateral trading system with our trade partners," the minister added.

The Economy Week, hosted by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, will run for five days until July 2.

With the theme "Towards a Dynamic and Sustainable Economy," the event aims to deepen the understanding of Brunei's economy and the contributors to economic growth, and enhance knowledge and understanding of the global and regional economic outlook. - Xinhua