Canada and Brunei have enjoyed a warm and productive bilateral relationship since the latter's independence in 1984.

Brunei opened its chancery in Ottawa in 1995 and Canada opened its in Bandar Seri Begawan the following year.

The Monarch of Brunei, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaullah, visited Canada in 1997 to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Vancouver. He was also in Ottawa in September 2000, on a working visit where he met with the Governor General, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Andrienne Clarkson, and the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien. A number of Canadian cabinet ministers and other Members of Parliament, as well as senior officials, have visited Brunei for bilateral and multilateral meetings. During Brunei's year as APEC Chair in 2000, Canada's Foreign Minister, the Honourable John Manley, attended the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Brunei in November 2000, in his capacity as the Personal Representative of the Prime Minister of Canada.

Bilateral relations are further strengthened by Canada's dialogue partnership with the Association of South East Asian nations (ASEAN), of which Brunei is a founding member, and by our shared membership with Brunei in various international fora. These include APEC, the Commonwealth, the World Trade Organization, and the United Nations. The two countries also participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum which deals with security issues.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Brunei is one of the most prosperous countries in the Asia-Pacific region, with a per capita GDP of US$12,344. Its wealth is directly attributable to its successful oil and gas industry. Brunei is the third largest oil producer in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Malaysia, and the world's fourth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, petroleum products are finite and the Brunei government is seeking to diversify the country's economy. In particular, it is seeking to promote Brunei as a regional hub and trans-shipment point for trade in goods and services, taking advantage of its geographical position at the centre of ASEAN, which comprises a population of 500 million people. Efforts are also being made to aid and assist SMEs, as well as companies active in IT and human resource development which are seen as the backbone of the new economy.

Other initiatives relate to the international marketing of Brunei as a destination for eco-tourism. An International Offshore Financial Centre was created in Brunei to attract foreign investment and assist the government's economic diversification efforts. In the oil and gas sector, Brunei is also considering processing downstream oil and gas by-products in order to generate more economic activities locally.

Brunei's main exports are crude oil, LNG and refined oil and gas products. Japan, South Korea, the United States, and the ASEAN countries are among the top export markets for Brunei's products.

COMMERCIAL RELATIONS

After nearly two years of economic stagnation brought about by the Asian economic slowdown and low oil prices, Brunei's economy is beginning to pick up. The oil and gas sector dominates Brunei's economy, contributing an estimated 37% of GDP in constant Brunei dollars in 2002.

As part of the economic recovery program, the Brunei government announced plans to provide approximately CA$200 million to fund small and medium sized projects. With one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, Brunei remains a market not to be ignored by Canadian business. Despite the recent downturn, Brunei does have the financial means to pay for needed goods and services.

While Canada's commercial success in Brunei, in terms of exports, has been modest to date, there are increasing Canadian activities in a number of sectors in Brunei and considerable bilateral trade in services. Main opportunities for Canadian companies are in the oil and gas sector, environmental sector, ICT sector , education services, and in advanced technology products and services. Other sectors with increasing attraction are financial services, defence and security products, forestry, and agriculture and agri-foods.

Brunei has invested overseas, particularly in overseas property and equity markets.

Canadian companies interested in the Brunei market should contact the High Commission directly and visit the "Doing Business in Brunei" site on the menu.

RECENT SUCCESSES BY CANADIAN COMPANIES

SR Telecom of Montreal was contracted by the Brunei government to provide wireless communication to the remote parts of Brunei. Canadian telecommunications hardware is marketed actively in Brunei and Spectrocan is in good position to contribute their expertise in the spectrum management solutions to Authority of Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) . A number of Canadian processed food products are also present in the Brunei market.

University of Calgary and Dalhousie University have respectively signed agreements with the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD) whereby UBD would train pre-med students for the two Canadian medical schools. UBD also has an agreement with Windsor University to conduct a twinning program in biotechnology.

Canadian firms have made considerable inroads in the environmental services sector in Brunei. Envirosoil Ltd., Inland Technologies Inc. and Jacques Whitford Environment Ltd. have established very successful joint ventures with local companies, mainly in the areas of soil remediation and the treatment of waste oil for Brunei Shell.

Another environmental consultancy company, Gartner Lee Ltd., is also working closely with the Brunei government on designing an environmental master plan for the country.

Under the umbrella of Brunei International Financial Centre, the Royal Bank of Canada has been granted the first offshore licence to open a branch in Brunei. The bank currently manages the Islamic mutual funds for the Islamic Bank of Brunei.