Diplomatic relations between Brunei Darussalam and Bangladesh were established on 5 May 1984. Bangladesh immediately recognized Brunei and opened a resident diplomatic mission in 1985. Brunei opened its High Commission in Dhaka in 1999. Since then, the two countries have maintained excellent diplomatic relations. The main areas of cooperation between the two countries are labour, defence, education, trade and energy.
The year 2019 represents a new chapter in Brunei-Darussalam-Bangladesh bilateral relations. In April 2019, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Brunei and signed several MoUs in different sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, livestock, gas supply, art and culture and youth and sports to strengthen bilateral ties between both friendly countries. Brunei Darussalam and Bangladesh expressed satisfaction with the longstanding friendly relations between the two countries. The two countries reiterated their commitment to leverage existing relations for mutual benefit.
Bangladesh and Brunei signed four documents on Sunday, including an aviation agreement, taking bilateral ties to a new level. After official talks, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah signed the bilateral agreement at the prime minister's office. His three other bilateral agreements are: "MoU on Employment and Recruitment of Bangladeshi Workers", "Memorandum of Understanding on Areas of Cooperation in Supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Other Petroleum Products", "MoU on Approval of Certificates Issued Pursuant to Regulations". The 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Competence, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers has been amended.
Brunei Darussalam and Bangladesh can continue to work together to explore ways to strengthen cooperation to elevate our relationship to a higher level. So far, two countries have identified several areas of cooperation to explore further, such as trade and investment sectors, food industry, agriculture and agro-processing, aquaculture, fisheries and livestock, energy, financial institutions, defence, health, labour, education, as well as regional and international forums. In that context, Brunei Darussalam and Bangladesh will continue to explore various possibilities in the trade and investment sectors, such as increasing active exchanges between local businessmen and exploring cooperation and partnerships to harness their strengths by capitalizing on export opportunities.
For the common good, both countries encourage mutual investment. In this regard, Brunei Darussalam is keen to participate in the global halal food market through Bangladesh's special economic zone and Brunei's proven expertise in the halal food industry. At the same time, Brunei Darussalam welcomes cooperation with Bangladesh in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and livestock, food processing, ICT, shipbuilding, manufacturing, tourism infrastructure, blue economy and jute industry. In addition, Bangladesh will continue to explore the possibility of extensive cooperation in the energy sector through Government-to-Government (G2G) arrangements, including the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh. The two countries can mutually expand bilateral trade relations and identify the opportunities in multiple areas of mutual interest.
Md. Rakibul Hoque is a Professor at the Department of Management Information Systems, University of Dhaka
