PM Wong to make official visit to Brunei from Oct 9 to 10
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Brunei Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (left) calling on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Istana on Sept 29 during an official visit to Singapore that ended on Oct 2.
PHOTO: MDDI
SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will make an official visit to Brunei from Oct 9 to 10 as Singapore and Brunei mark 50 years of defence ties.
In Brunei, he will attend a joint parade featuring personnel and operational assets from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces with Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on Oct 10, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Oct 8.
PM Wong and the Sultan will launch a commemorative gallery showcasing key milestones in the two countries’ defence relations, which were established in 1976. The Sultan will also host PM Wong for lunch.
During his third visit to Brunei as prime minister, PM Wong will witness the delivery of four Light Fire Attack Vehicles – more commonly known in Singapore as the Red Rhino – to the Brunei Fire and Rescue Department, which is under the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs.
The vehicles were developed by Singapore engineering firm Hope Technik and customised to meet Brunei’s operational requirements, the PMO said.
PM Wong will also meet SAF personnel training in Temburong, Brunei’s easternmost district, and hear about their training experiences.
He will be accompanied by his wife and Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Rachel Ong, and officials from the PMO, the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Ministry.
The trip comes about a week after Brunei Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah met PM Wong during an official visit to Singapore that ended on Oct 2.
During the five-day visit, Billah also met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, among other officials.
In 2026, both PM Wong and SM Lee have lauded the “special relationship” between Singapore and Brunei, which is built on decades of trust, cooperation and personal ties between their people.
In July, Singapore and Brunei reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties when SM Lee visited the South-east Asian state for the Sultan’s 80th birthday celebrations.
Both countries said then that they would explore ways to deepen bilateral cooperation across a wide range of areas, including energy and food security, supply chain resilience and people-to-people exchanges.
In 2027, the two countries will also mark the 60th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement, which allows the Brunei and Singapore currencies to be used interchangeably in both countries.
Gan will be the acting prime minister while PM Wong is in Brunei.