Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei has an important role to play despite being the smallest economy in the 21-economy Apec grouping, said a prominent Bruneian businesswoman, Fauziah Dato Talib, who was speaking to The Brunei Times on the sidelines of the Apec 2009 Leaders Week.

Brunei's market size shouldn't be taken to mean its impact is equally small, Fauziah said. The country's participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, like the rest of other member economies, means that Brunei has a voice on various issues and therefore has an impact, she explained.

"For Brunei there are quite a few issues (that are worthy of discussion). Brunei became active on trade agreements around the region," said Fauziah, who is a member of Brunei's Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac).

The Sultanate is a member of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, also known as the P4. Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore signed the agreement in 2005.

Over the course of the Apec Leaders Week, the P4 has been identified as one of the possible pathways in meeting the goals for free trade agreement (FTA) in the Asia-Pacific.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earlier highlighted in his keynote address that P4 could grow into a pillar for free trade and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

For Fauziah, an FTA in Apec is the next logical step in light of the fact that the Doha Round of talks is at an impasse. "We need to go and look to other possible logical steps for the reason to be in Apec. And the reason is free and open trade.

"Trade is important for the (global economic) recovery," she said, asserting that "Brunei has a role to play in all of this. Our role is to ensure that there is free and open trade."

If businesses and investment can come into Brunei, it would open up the doors to allow for spin-offs and other activities, which can impact on business in Brunei in myriad positive ways.

In order to take up the initiative, Brunei Darussalam needs to seriously look at what is effective for the development of their small medium enterprises (SMEs), Fauziah said.

SMEs have the potential to tap into the opportunities that are poised to arrive with free trade, she said. After all, SMEs are widely recognised as an engine of economic growth.

The fact that Brunei is opening its doors to outside investments is good, and seeing how SMEs can tap into the opportunities of the region is also very good, she said. Both usher in growth.

"To succeed in regional and international alliances, Brunei must get its house in order first. At the end of the day we need to look at whats behind our doors first so that we can survive in this whole Apec region," she said. Fauziah emphasised that there are problems, some which are specific to Apec, and others that are exclusively Bruneian.

"However, what is most relevant to Brunei is to take from the best practices out there and apply it to our country," she said.

"We still need a lot more programmes to support that (the potential growth in the economy)," said Fauziah, who expressed the need to learn from the experiences of others. "We need to really go and sit down and look at whats effective for SMEs to really tap in to this."

There are lots of discussion amongst the Apec Business Advisory Council on how Brunei can raise capacity building for businesses and SMEs, she said.

One way of doing that is by engaging the private sector with the public sector on areas that have room for improvement.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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