OPENING REMARKS
BY
HIS EXCELLENCY
DATO SERI PADUKA AWANG HAJI SELAMAT
BIN HAJI MUNAP

DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE
NEGARA BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE
6Th APEC FINANCIERS’ GROUP MEETING (AFG)

ON

9TH SEPTEMBER 2000 AT 9.00 AM

AT

SHERATON UTAMA HOTEL
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
NEGARA BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

Mr Chairman

Distinguished Delegate

Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh and Greetings to you all.

First of all, I would like to thank Mr Luc Rousselet, the Chairman of the Brunei Association of Banks as Chairman of this meeting, and the Organising Committee for inviting me as guest of honour and to say a few words of opening remarks. It is, indeed, my great pleasure to be able to welcome our visitors to Brunei Darussalam - the Abode of Peace. I hope your stay in this quiet, small country of ours will be comfortable and worthwhile at the same time that it is interesting both from a banker’s and non-banker’s perspective. Certainly, our country’s size notwithstanding. we also have something to offer to the discerning visitors.

2. We are here to-day on a mission under the new format whereby APEC Finance Ministers meet ahead of the Leaders’ Summit to help further advance the overall APEC Agenda in terms of trade and investment liberalisation for the Asia-Pacific region premised upon open regionalism. We want to help APEC reach another milestone, but in a way that would make our respective communities feel that the APEC AGENDA is indeed their own.

Thus, while the discussions at the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting in the next couple of days will revolve on or relate to the core issue of development in strengthening the international financial architecture and related subjects the APEC Financiers Group, in my humble opinion, should endeavour to. at least, impart and transmit a greater sense urgency and meaning to the various capacity-building initiatives including those pertaining to human resources development for financiers. That is to say, initiatives which when implemented will revitalise APEC and make it belong to our respective communities instead of being increasingly distant organisation characterised by regular talkfests it appears to have become to certain segments of the community. It would be most interesting for the AFG as bankers to add their own assessment of the effectiveness of the Finance Ministers process in keeping with the Theme “Delivering To The Community”. In this connection, the AFG may also wish now to go back to the 5th AFG Meeting in Langkawi in May 1999 and examine and evaluate to what extent the strategic initiatives endorsed for adoption by the APEC Finance Ministers have, in fact, been accepted by the APEC Finance Ministers and subsequently endorsed by leaders for implementation. You will remember that the strategic objective of the AFG initiatives was to further develop and strengthen the financial system of APEC member economies through the execution of specifically designed and mutually beneficial capacity-building measure, that would bring about focused and outcome-oriented results. Nevertheless, the AFG may now find that they, too, have some “catch up” work to do for which I can only wish you success in the interest of revitalizing APEC and make it more relevant to our communities and, indeed, seen to be so.

3.       Finally, with the recent establishment of its international Financial Centre (BIFC) Brunei Darussalam hopes to position itself as an equal partner in the ongoing globalisation of financial and commercial activities which the APEC Agenda seeks to foster and promote. Brunei Darussalam would welcome relevant initiatives of the AFG towards further development and strengthening of our respective financial systems including in the case of Brunei Darussalam the full flowering of our BIFC, by way of co-operation and strategic alliances, through focused and outcome-oriented capacity building measures. It will also welcome initiatives which can also lead to breaking down the exclusiveness and barriers of the rich men’s club, which seek to prevent yet again developing countries from exploiting their unique national resources including peace, stability and sovereignty in pursuit of legitimate and responsible economic growth and national development.

With the kalimah Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, I now declare officially open the 6th APEC Financiers Group Meeting (AFG).

Wabillahit Taufik Walhidayah Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Thank you.