Brunei, Vietnam mull oil as project
By Shareen Han

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei's friendly relations with Vietnam will be further strengthened with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the oil and gas sector sometime this year.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Brunei Ha Hong Hai told The Brunei Times that an MoU between Brunei National Petroleum and Petro Vietnam, a state-run oil company, was in the pipeline.

"Both countries are rich in oil and gas, and they are exploring and exploiting these natural resources, so they can cooperate and exchange experiences," he said, adding that the MoU may be signed within this year.

He said bilateral relations can be boosted through cooperation in labour, fishing industry, education and training, and the oil and gas sector.

The two countries still have room for improvement even though the current state of bilateral ties has been strengthened and developed since the establishment of diplomatic relations 15 years ago.

Brunei is a new market for Vietnamese labour, with more than 600 Vietnamese currently working in Brunei in the construction industry and the services sector, he said. Some Vietnamese also work here as domestic helpers.

The ambassador added that Brunei can benefit from Vietnam's labour sector as it has a high demand for foreign workers and both countries can effectively cooperate in this area.

Vietnam has a very strong workforce, with more that 78,800 Vietnamese sent to work overseas last year in all sectors, including professionals, engineers, technicians, skilled and unskilled labourers, he said.

He said Vietnam plans to increase the number of overseas Vietnamese workers to 80,000 this year to markets such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and other countries in North America.

"Brunei and Vietnam have long coasts and share the same sea. Vietnam can help Brunei develop its fishing industry for exporting to other countries," said the ambassador.

He has also suggested both countries to collaborate in the education field through teacher and student exchange visits.

"Vietnamese undergraduate and postgraduate students can study at Universiti Brunei Darussalam while Bruneian students can study at various Vietnamese universities," he added.

The ambassador said that the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brunei and Vietnam is "special in the sense that it is a stopover where we can look back at what we have done to promote bilateral relations.

"It is when we learn experiences from the past and from each other that we can draw a roadmap for future cooperation," he added.

He said that some of the milestones over the last 15 years include the official visit by His Majesty in 1998 and his attendance at the Apec summit in November last year.

"For Vietnam's part, President, Tran Duc Luong paid an official visit (to Brunei) in Novembei 2001 and attended the Apec summit in Brunei in the same year," he said.

A number of agreements have also been signed, including in the aviation, maritime, trade, tourism and other economic, scientific and technical areas. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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