Bandar Seri Begawan - The Malaysian High Commissioner Dato' Abdullah Sani Omar has lauded the great bilateral relations between Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. He was speaking to the media during the celebrations to commemorate Malaysia's 55th year of independence at the High Commission in Jalan Kebangsaan.

He said this unique relationship will be further augmented in the upcoming visit by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam to Malaysia in September, with a focus on 'annual consultations' between the leaders of the two independent neighbouring nations, who shared historic and cultural relationships that spanned for centuries.

Dato' Abdullah said warm relations have existed prior to Brunei gaining independence in 1984, and subsequently Malaysia became one of the earliest nations to establish an official diplomatic relation, and set up a diplomatic mission in Brunei.

The peoples of the two nations, he said, acted in accordance with their respective leaders, forging closer ties in terms of friendship, family, cultural, sports and in many other aspects.

He also congratulated Brunei on taking the Asean chairmanship in 2013. For his government's part, he gave an assurance that Malaysia will provide cooperation and share their experiences with Brunei to ensure a smooth regional summit.

On regional territorial disputes, particularly the worrying and escalating diplomatic quarrels between Japan and both South Korea and China, he urged all parties to come to the negotiating table to form progressive discussions that will benefit not only the countries involved, but also the neighbouring nations that cast a worrying look on the problem. This is important to avert any armed conflict that could easily spread throughout the region, he added.

The crisis was also highlighted to the Chinese Foreign Minister Mr Yang Jiechi by Asean leaders when he visited Brunei and Sarawak recently, urging dialogue and negotiations to avoid any armed conflict in the region. The

Spratlys Islands is also a territorial dispute with claims of ownership by Brunei, China (People's Republic of China), Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan (Republic of China), and Vietnam. Most of the claimants except Brunei occupy some of the islands.

On Sabah and Sarawak, Dato' Abdullah said the focal point remained on economic cooperation, example is the installation of the bridge over the Pandaruan River that will link Brunei and Limbang aimed to enhance economic growth and ample opportunities between Malaysia and Brunei as a whole. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in August 2013 and will replace the existing ferry service for Pandaruan river.

Livestock is another economic component between Brunei and Sabah that has remained high on the agenda of cooperation. This economic partnership will be placed in perspective when Malaysia's largest livestock integrated centre based in Sabah is completed-a joint venture between Brunei and the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia).