German Parliamentarians To Visit Brunei To Boost Ties
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - A Five-Member delegation from German Federal Parliament will be visiting Brunei from February 9-12, the first ever by parliamentarians from the West to the Sultanate in recent years.

The visit is aimed at boosting economic ties with emphasis on cooperation in highly specialised areas with German SMEs, knowing more about Brunei's Legislative Council and meeting officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, German Ambassador to the country, Mr Conrad Cappell, told the media yesterday.

"They are in charge of policy and law implementation at the federal level. We have been lobbying for them to come for a long time. 'They are parliamentarians' that look after affairs in the Asean countries. Prior to visiting Brunei, they will visit Singapore," the Ambassador said.

"The parliamentarians supervise foreign policy and they want to have a first hand experience of Brunei," he added.

Since Brunei reinstated its Legislative Council in 2004 and subsequently the appointment of elected members, the parliamentarians are interested to meet with speakers and members of the Legislative Council to find out their plans. In the last Leg-Co meet, they discussed the Brunei's budget.

It is of interest in Germany to get firsthand intonation of the development and the plans of Brunei Legislative Council.

The visitors will also meet officials from Brunei's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to get an insight into Brunei's foreign policy and the role of Brunei in Asean, particularly with respect to the Asean community and Asean Charter.

They are also interested in the system of monarchy and the role of Islam in the daily life of the people as well as tour the pristine forest in Temburong, particularly the `Heart of Borneo' project.

"Economically, Germany is a powerhouse, being the biggest exporter in the world ahead of Japan and the United States for the third year running. Technology-wise, we are the leader in energy saving, renewable energy resources and environmental technology. We are willing to share all the experience that we have acquired over the years with Brunei.

"We are willing to take the opportunities offered by BEDB. But it has got to be two ways in a win-win situation and in the interest of both sides. Germans are willing to share in areas like energy saving, which is a big topic in the recent Asean Summit in Cebu, Philippines. "One of our engineers is coming to Brunei today to talk about potential projects like how to produce hydrogen instead of gasoline or diesel for vehicles. German engineers are studying how to get hydrogen in a cheap way like from solar energy or water. This is the future market.

`We would suggest that Brunei, with the cooperation of German companies, to think of the niche areas in a more specialised way, not' undertaken by big powers in this region. All the big oil powers in the Middle East are already doing what Brunei is doing like diversifying into the methanol, urea and aluminium industry.

"Brunei needs to tell the world about the opportunities available here. The small Brunei market is not a factor. Brunei's geographical location is strategic. Companies that come here not only focus on the Brunei market but the region itself."

He also suggested sophisticated areas like aircraft maintenance and solar power where Germans could help, especially SMEs that drive the German businesses.

Small, highly specialised German companies could also tie-up with Brunei. Brunei is conducive to foreign investors with no big natural disasters and it is peaceful. Bilaterally, Germany has no problems with Brunei and cooperates in the context of Asian-Europe where currently Germany holds the EU president, he said. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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