The Prime Minister welcomed His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei to Downing Street this morning.
The leaders praised the strength of the UK-Brunei relationship, as exemplified by the UK-Brunei Garrison Agreement and the visit of the UK's Carrier Strike Group to Brunei in October. They looked forward to the inaugural UK-Brunei Strategic Dialogue, taking place next week.
The Prime Minister thanked the Sultan for his support, as Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for the UK becoming a Dialogue Partner of the group this year. The Prime Minister said that the UK's new partnership with ASEAN, alongside the inaugural deployment of the Carrier Strike Group to the region and our application to join the CPTPP trade agreement, were all part of our increased commitment to the Indo-Pacific, a region of vital importance.
The Prime Minister looked forward to more cooperation between the UK and Brunei on important global challenges, building on Brunei's contribution to the success of the COP26 Summit. He also expressed his hope that Brunei will make further progress on human rights, and particularly LGBT rights, delivering on their commitments in this area.
