On October 9, at 2 p.m. local time (or 3 p.m. if you’re in Japan) for about 20 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Japan’s Foreign Minister, who was visiting Brunei, got to hang out with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the big boss of Brunei. Here’s what they talked about.
- First, Minister Kamikawa said she was super excited to see the Sultan at the ASEAN-Japan party in Tokyo in December, and that she wanted to make their friendship even stronger for the 40th birthday of their diplomatic ties next year. The Sultan said congrats to Minister Kamikawa for becoming the Foreign Minister and said he was glad she came to Brunei. The Sultan also said he was happy with how well things were going between their countries and couldn’t wait to go to the ASEAN-Japan party.
- Next, the Sultan talked about how cool it was that their countries had such a long and nice history together, thanks to their royal families and their LNG business. He also said he wanted to work more with Japan on big issues like climate change and on fun stuff like tourism. Minister Kamikawa said she hoped Japan and Brunei would keep working together on energy and economy stuff like LNG and the “Asian Zero Emission Community” idea, on people-to-people stuff like “JENESYS”, and on security and defense stuff like defense exchange and maritime security.
- Finally, the Sultan said he was very happy with how well they got along with Japan, even before Brunei became independent. Minister Kamikawa said she was sure Japan and Brunei were true buddies because they trusted each other for a long time, even though she didn’t stay in Brunei for too long. They both agreed to do their best to make the ASEAN-Japan party a success and to make their friendship even better for the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year.
