Photo: Collected
On the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday (3 November), Bangladesh’s acting Foreign Minister Humayun Kabir held a meeting with Brunei’s Second Minister of Finance Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah. There he called on Brunei Darussalam to invest in Bangladesh’s energy exploration on a government-to-government (G2G) or public-private partnership (PPP) basis.
Dhaka also expressed interest in building long-term cooperation with the country in the energy sector.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release on Wednesday morning that both ministers expressed satisfaction at the meeting over the steady progress of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Brunei.
Humayun Kabir also encouraged Brunei to invest in Bangladesh’s Islamic banking sector.
On manpower, the acting foreign minister said Bangladesh is ready to send more skilled, semi-skilled and professional workers to meet the demands of Brunei’s labour market.
Brunei’s second finance minister acknowledged the important contribution of expatriate Bangladeshis to the country’s economy. He also expressed hope that recruitment of workers from Bangladesh would continue.
At the meeting, Humayun Kabir also conveyed an invitation from Bangladesh’s prime minister to the Sultan of Brunei to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time.
Background
During Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah’s visit to Dhaka on 16 October 2022, the two countries signed four bilateral instruments, one of which was a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other petroleum products — The Business Standard reported this that day.
According to a Prothom Alo report of 20 November 2024, Brunei’s state-owned Brunei Energy Services and Trading (BEST) had sent a proposal to Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL) to export 12 to 18 LNG cargoes a year under a 10-year contract.
By the numbers
According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), 77,958 Bangladeshis went to Brunei for work from 1992 to January 2024; of them, 3,473 went between January 2020 and January 2024 — The Business Standard reported this on 17 April 2024.
Sources
Background sources: The Business Standard, 16 October 2022; The Business Standard, 17 April 2024; Prothom Alo, 20 November 2024
