His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, made an official visit to Thailand on 28-29 April 2024. A joint press statement on the visit was issued on 29 April, summarizing key points from the discussions between Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

In the statement, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam agreed to continue working closely to promote economic cooperation focusing on the following fields:

1) Trade: The two leaders agreed to promote closer bilateral trade relations by establishing a mechanism at the policy level to determine concrete action plans for promoting bilateral trade and economic cooperation, and tasked the relevant agencies to discuss the matter further.

2) Food Security and Halal Cooperation: Thailand expressed readiness to host the first Meeting of the Joint Agricultural Working Group on Agriculture on 7-8 May 2024. The leaders reiterated the importance of halal industry cooperation through the close coordination between the Thai Halal Industry Center under the Ministry of Industry and the relevant agencies of Brunei Darussalam, such as the Ministry of Finance and Economy; Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism; and Ministry of Religious Affairs. In this regard, both sides also agreed to explore a Memorandum of Understanding on Halal Industry and Halal Export Development and Promotion to further deepen cooperation in this area.

3) Tourism: The leaders agreed to strengthen tourism cooperation, including through the “Six Countries, One Destination” scheme, which is a pilot scheme proposed by Thailand to promote regional tourism cooperation, and they also agreed to cooperate in health and wellness tourism, ecotourism and Muslim-friendly tourism. In addition, both sides would work toward increasing the number of direct flights and expanding flight routes from Brunei Darussalam to Thailand.

4) Investment: The leaders welcomed the Brunei Economic Development Board’s interest in attracting and facilitating investments from Thailand’s food industry, downstream and petrochemical industry, logistics and tourism industry to Brunei Darussalam. They looked forward to the conclusion of the Agreement for the Elimination of Double Taxation and the Preventions of Tax Evasion and Avoidance.

5) Digital Economy: His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam welcomed the Bank of Thailand’s continued assistance in capacity-building and sharing of experience with the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank, which has been instrumental in the development of the Fast Payment System to facilitate efficient money transfers and payments with lower fees. The Prime Minister of Thailand commended Brunei Darussalam for joining the Memorandum of Understanding on Regional Payment Connectivity, which will enhance financial cooperation between Brunei Darussalam and Thailand as well as with other countries in the region. 

Concerning people-to-people exchanges, the Prime Minister of Thailand appreciated the scholarships provided by the Government of Brunei Darussalam for Thai students, including from the southern border provinces of Thailand to pursue among others, Islamic studies in various higher educational institutions in Brunei Darussalam. The leaders also agreed to deepen human resource development in the medical and nursing fields. Toward further strengthening people-to-people exchanges, they encouraged both sides to continue negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding on Employment of Thai Workers in Brunei Darussalam; Memorandum of Understanding on the Development of One Village, One Product (OVOP) Project; Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation; and Memorandum of Understanding on Educational Cooperation between the Ministry of Education of Thailand and the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam.

Regarding climate change, the leaders expressed pleasure that ASEAN agreed to establish the ASEAN Center for Climate Change in Brunei Darussalam and the Prime Minister of Thailand gave his assurance that Thailand will expedite the necessary steps to sign the Establishment Agreement in the near future. They looked forward to the successful establishment of the Centre as well as its role toward facilitating close regional coordination and cooperation on addressing climate change among ASEAN Member States.

On the issue of regional developments, the leaders exchanged views on key regional developments of common interest and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening ASEAN Centrality and unity in the promotion of peace, stability, and development in the region amidst fast-changing international landscapes. On developments in Myanmar, the leaders shared the same goal of a peaceful, stable and unified Myanmar, and called on all parties to resolve their differences through constructive dialogue to achieve a peaceful solution that is Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned. Brunei Darussalam welcomed Thailand’s initiative to scale up humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, which further contributes to the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus.

During the visit, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam witnessed the signing of two memorandums of understanding:

(1) Memorandum of Understanding between Thailand’s Government Pension Fund and Brunei Investment Agency; and

(2) Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand and the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei Darussalam.