Sultan Sir Muda Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izuddin Waddaulah and Sultana Pengiran Isteri Hajjah MariamYour Majesties, your Royal Highnesses.
I am proud and delighted to be the first British Prime Minister to visit Brunei Darussalam. Just over a year ago in this magnificent palace and in the presence of Prince Charlesthe Prince of Wales, and many other eminent figures, your Majesty said that Brunei Darussalam did not intend to abandon its long established friendships, and expressed the hope that the relationship with Britain would always be a cordial one in the years to come.
It is certainly a long standing friendship. It was first put into the written word in the [end p1] Treaty of 1847 which declared that “peace, friendship and good understanding shall from henceforward and forever subsist between Her Majesty The Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Highness Omar Ali Saifudeen Sultan of Borneo, and between their respective heirs and successors and subjects” .
Those words are as good now as they were then. Although I have not been here before, I feel at home in this country.
That is because of your Majesty's warm hospitality.
It is also because our links are so strong. [end p2] Over the years the relationship has been, for the most part, a happy and fruitful one, and the role played in this by His Royal Highness The Seri Begawan Sultan has been a most significant one.
I am told that Your Royal Highness is writing his memoirs of a long and illustrious life. It will be a fascinating story.
During all this time, Britain has tried to help and to co-operate.
This we shall continue to do.
The end of the constitutional arrangement will lead to no diminution in Britain's interest in Brunei. [end p3] We help to train your Majesty's armed forces. We welcome the many Bruneian students who come to Britain.
British business will continue to work with Brunei—and one major company, Shell, has been producing oil here since 1929.
We shall continue to offer the benefit of our own long experience in many fields.
We shall work together in these matters as two free and equal partners.
But the history of Britain's involvement in Brunei is only a small part of the whole.
Your Majesty's family has ruled this country for more than five centuries and your Majesty [end p4] is its 29th member to occupy the throne. We too come from a monarchy and we have found that institution to be a powerful focus for the people and a strong force for stability. It is a great pleasure to visit a country where the same tradition prevails and which, at the same time, moves forward by selecting and accepting the best which the modern world can offer—as I saw this morning at the new hospital.
Indeed, Brunei enjoys many advantages. But we live in a world where we are all increasingly dependent on one another. I am impressed by the rapidity with which [end p5] Brunei has moved to recognise that interdependence.
We were pleased to welcome Brunei to the Commonwealth and to the United Nations. We were particularly glad to see Brunei take its seat in ASEAN.
This is the third ASEAN country I have visited during my current tour and I am going on to a fourth.
I have been struck by the association's sense of common purpose, particularly at a time of economic difficulty and when confronted with severe tensions in Indo China.
I look forward to watching Brunei develop its role as ASEAN's sixth member. [end p6]
Your Majesty, this visit has been too short but for me it has been more than useful.
I am grateful for your Majesty's invitation, for your helpful discussions and for your generous hospitality.
I hope your Majesty will know that we are always ready to welcome you and members of your family to Britain.