His Majesty Receives UK General
By Sobrina Rosli

Bandar Seri Begawan - HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mui'zzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Minister of Defence and Supreme Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), yesterday consented to receive in audience the Chief of General Staff, United Kingdom, General Sir Richard Dannatt KCB CBE MC ADC Gen, at Istana Nurul Iman.

Accompanying the the Chief of General Staff were the RBAF Commander, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General Dato Paduka Seri Awg Halbi Md Yussof, Acting Permanent Secretary of Defence, Pg Dato Paduka Mashor Pg Ahmad and the Commander of Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF), Colonel Pg Dato Paduka Rosli Pg Hj Chuchu.

Meanwhile, Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Rajah Saleha consented to receive in separate audience the wife of the UK Chief of General Staff, Lady Philippa Dannatt. She was accompanied by the wives of Brunei's military senior officials.

General Sir Richard Dannatt also paid courtesy call on RBAF's Commander at the Ministry of Defence in Bolkiah Garrison. On a different occasion he also made a goodwill call on the Commander of RBLF at its headquarters in Berakas Garrison.

General Sir Richard Dannatt will be leaving today after a three-day visit to the sultanatee aimed at further strenghtening existing friendly relation and enhancing the importance of cooperation between both armies.

Defence relationship' between Brunei and the UK has been strengthened from time to time. A number of UK armed forces personnel are on loan to the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and the UK maintains a Garrison consisting of a battalion of Gurkhas. Training links are also close, and. Brunei has traditionally looked to the UK for a significant part of its defence equipment requirements.

Bilateral relations, based on the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, are historically very close. There have been state visits in both direction with Queen Elizabeth II visited Brunei=most recently in 1998 and there have been many outward visits by other members of the British Royal family. There is also a regular flow of ministerial visits in both directions and by successive Lord Mayors of London to Brunei, most recently in May 2006.

In terms of economic relations, trade figures between Brunei and the UK are substantial for Brunei's size but highly variable. Exports are mainly in engineering (especially in the oil and gas sector) and luxury goods. Investment figures are difficult to ascertain, but a significant amount of Bruneian money is invested through the City of London. Other invisible earnings are also significant, eg in legal and accounting services. The major UK investment in Brunei is Shell's 50 per cent stake in Brunei Shell Petroleum, which develops Brunei's oil and gas reserves. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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