Joint Statement for the 40th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations and the Third
Strategic Dialogue between the United Kingdom and Brunei Darussalam
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
The Minister of Foreign Affairs II of Brunei Darussalam, Yang Berhormat Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof, and the Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom, the Rt. Hon. Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, met in London on 26 March 2024, to co-chair the Third United Kingdom-Brunei Darussalam Strategic Dialogue.
The Ministers commemorated this year's 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom (UK) and Brunei Darussalam in 1984.
To mark this important milestone, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the Rt. Hon. Lord David Cameron and Minister of Foreign Affairs II, YB Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof had a bilateral discussion in the margins of the Strategic Dialogue.
The Strategic Dialogue, established in November 2021, aims to promote and strengthen the bilateral cooperation built on the foundations of the longstanding relations and special friendship between both countries. This is underpinned by our shared history, our strong government-to-government links, as well as our close education ties and people-to-people links. Defence ties are of particular significance, with Brunei Darussalam hosting British Forces Brunei, supporting security and prosperity in the region.
The Ministers welcomed the strong bilateral relationship and reviewed the areas of collaboration between the two countries. The Ministers discussed a range of bilateral issues, including cooperation on trade and economy, legal matters, defence, security, maritime issues, climate change and environmental protection, education and human rights. In this regard, the Ministers discussed opportunities to expand and deepen cooperation in both new and existing fields.
Both sides welcomed the positive trajectory of the UK-Brunei Darussalam relationship and their commitment to work together to further strengthen and deepen the bilateral partnership. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to closer coordination through multilateral fora, including ASEAN, the Commonwealth and the United Nations. In this regard, they reaffirmed the importance of the values expressed in the United Nations Charter and the Commonwealth Charter, including respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. They underlined their strong commitment to strengthening multilateralism and the rules-based international order in responding to increasingly complex global challenges, as well as to accelerating progress towards sustainable development and climate change goals. Both sides took note that the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will take place in Apia, Samoa in October 2024.
The UK expressed warm appreciation for Brunei Darussalam's advice and support for the UK to become a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN on 5 August 2021, and for its role since then as the Country Coordinator for ASEAN-UK Dialogue Relations. Brunei Darussalam appreciated the UK's continued support for ASEAN centrality, and the two sides looked forward to advancing ASEAN-UK cooperation across all ASEAN community pillars, including in areas such as trade and investment, climate change, science and technology, and education among others.
The Ministers agreed that the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will strengthen the UK's engagement in the Indo-Pacific and boost the prosperity of all members. Brunei Darussalam reaffirmed its commitment to ratifying the UK's accession protocol in order to unlock the mutual economic benefits that the new, preferential trading terms will offer both countries.
The Ministers exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern, including recent developments in the Middle East / Gaza, Ukraine, the South China Sea and Myanmar.
The Ministers looked forward to the next UK-Brunei Darussalam Strategic Dialogue, to be held in 2025 in Brunei Darussalam.
