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Statement by His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah Special Envoy of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam

At the 14th Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit 16 September 2006
Havana, Cuba

Acting President
Your Highnesses
Your Excellencies

I would like to convey His Majesty’s very best wishes to President Fidel Castro for his continued good health and prosperity and my own respects to the Government and People of Cuba. I thank you very much indeed for your wonderful friendship and for the kindness with which you have welcomed us.

I also have much pleasure in presenting our warmest greetings to all our fellow members of the Non-Aligned Movement especially to our new friends and colleagues from Haiti and from St. Kitts and Nevis.

On behalf of the Government and People of Brunei Darussalam, may I also offer my warmest congratulations to the Government and People of Cuba on becoming our Chairman.

We gratefully recognize the leading role Cuba has played in the movement and we have great confidence in its leadership in the coming years. We are sure that it will continue to build successfully on the outstanding work done by Malaysia in its Chairmanship over the past three years.

Mr. President,

It is just over a decade since Brunei Darussalam had the honour of being accepted as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. During that time, we have been extremely proud to be associated with the many successes members have achieved together.

We have admired the strong collective voice the movement has often brought to the conduct of international affairs. This has often been a much needed moral voice. It has strongly opposed racism and discrimination. It has done all it can to promote peace and disarmament. It has always sought fairness and justice for oppressed people everywhere. It has asserted the rights of women, children, the poor and the sick. It has constantly stressed the need for South-South development and cooperation.

Above all, it has given us all the opportunity to work with fellow developing nations in mutual respect and friendship. It has also given us a unique chance to get to know each other well, share experiences and concerns and do whatever we can to work peacefully together. It has voiced the deepest concerns, fears and hopes of the ordinary individual citizens and of the countries its members represent. Nor has it ever accepted that nothing can be achieved unless the great powers of the day approve.

By contrast, it has always tried to define a positive and constructive relationship between developing nations and powerful ones today. It describes these relations as ones that must be truly global. They must properly involve all people where they are born and wherever they live.

Mr. President,

We in Brunei Darussalam see no need for debate about the Movements’ significance. What it stands for is the most significant aspect of international life. It upholds the quality of ordinary people’s lives. It voices their needs for confidence and hope for the future.

Where we do see a need, however, is in the specific actions we can take to give substance to what we stand for. This is why we have been very pleased to join our neighbours in Indonesia in setting up the South-South Centre in Jakarta. It is a small contribution and we would like to see more use made of it. We maintain our support for it because it is practical. We feel it is very much in line with the policy the Movement has adopted over the last fifteen years. It also follows the lead Malaysia has encouraged over the last few years.

This calls for a purposeful direction towards practical action even on a modest scale. We feel this is the most influential way to support the Movement’s essentially moral and ethical voice in international affairs. We are confident that our colleagues in Cuba will reinforce this message.

Mr. President,

I once more thank you for the wonderful reception we have been given in Havana. And I convey the very best wishes to all fellow members from His Majesty’s Government and the People of Brunei Darussalam.

Thank you.