Senior
US officials have lauded Brunei's role in spearheading regional efforts to
promote US-Asean ties which include deep involvement in negotiations for the
Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
The growing partnership between Brunei and the
US was highlighted by the Sultanate agreeing to finance a major US-Asean
education effort that will see American students train a new generation of
Asean leaders in the English language, said the US Assistant Secretary of State
for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Speaking to The Brunei Times, US Assistant
Secretary Kurt Campbell said the programme will be launched during the US-Asean
Summit in Bali on November 18.
"That (the programme) has been very
generously underwritten and supported by the government of Brunei," said
Campbell on the sidelines of a dedication ceremony for the new US Embassy on
Jalan Kebangsaan. "No country has assisted us more as we seek to engage
more deeply with Asean."
Campbell is on a two-day visit to the
Sultanate where he officiated the embassy dedication and met with Brunei's
Minister of Foreign Affairs II Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia
Lim Jock Seng.
The senior US official said he had been in
"close consultation" with Pehin Dato Lim about how they can work
together at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in
Hawaii and East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali which both take place next month.
"We've (Brunei and the United States)
worked on virtually every aspect of our engagement - maritime security,
humanitarian response, on educational exchanges with Brunei. Frankly, they
could have not been more supportive - we're thrilled."
US Ambassador to Brunei Daniel L Shields III
said his country was enthusiastic about entry into the EAS as it will mark the
first time a US President participates in the meeting. President Obama is set
to attend the EAS and US-Asean summits in Bali on November 18 and 19, five days
after the close of the Apec summit in Honolulu.
Shields said the US was particularly
interested in exploring energy cooperation with Brunei during the meetings and
had already gotten a headstart during the recent Asean Ministers on Energy
Meeting held in the Sultanate last month.
"Brunei took the initiative to invite all
the EAS countries plus the United States and Russia. We've never had that
opportunity before... So we were able to get a good start on energy
issues."
Both Shields and Campbell also commended
Brunei's role in spearheading the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement; a
multilateral free trade agreement that aims to further liberalise the economies
of the Asia-Pacific region.
As one of the four founding members of the TPP
- along with Chile, Singapore and New Zealand - Brunei has been intimately
involved in the negotiations, recently attending the eighth round of
negotiations in Chicago seeking to expand the partnership.
"They've been a wonderful partner for us
in TPP... We usually like to be in at the beginning, but because this is something
very good that Brunei had started, we've said 'We'd like to have a piece of
this'," said Shields.
Campbell added that good progress was made
during the Chicago negotiations in which Brunei had been instrumental.
"They have been the key country in guiding the effort to be sure we have
the progress necessary, knock on wood, some sort of framework agreement when
all the nations meet in Apec in the next month."
At last year's Apec summit, leaders from the
nine negotiating countries endorsed a proposal to come up with the TPP
framework by Hawaii in 2011. Aside from the original members, Australia, the
United States, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam are also in talks to join the
partnership.
However, observers are sceptical that parties
can conclude talks before November's summit. The move reflects conflicting
opinions over how to reduce trade barriers and the controversy surrounding the
US push to tighten intellectual property laws.
"We feel like the progress has been quite
good and we'll see what will be accomplished in time for the Apec summit,"
said Shields. "Pe\ople are optimistic that they'll have something good to
say in Hawaii."
Auratul-Ain Bandal
The Brunei Times
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