By Nishant Ketu
India’s High Commissioner to Brunei, Alok Amitabh Dimri, has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Brunei “historic moment” in bilateral ties and the Indian community in Brunei.
In an interview with ANI, Alok Amitabh Dimri said that PM Modi’s visit is historic in many ways as both nations have been civilizational neighbours. He also elaborated on influence of Indian culture in Brunei.
Asked about significance of PM Modi’s visit for two nations, Dimri said, “Well you see Honorable Prime Minister is on a two-day official tour to Brunei Darussalam on 3rd and 4th September. In our four decades of diplomatic relationship, this is the first bilateral official visit by the Prime Minister of India to Brunei Darussalam. It is a historic moment in our bilateral relationship and also for the Indian community in Brunei Darussalam that high-level bilateral engagement between Prime Minister Shri Modi and His Majesty the King is going to take place.”
“This visit is historic in many ways that Brunei and India have been civilizational neighbors as you know that India shares a deep historical roots and bonds with Southeast Asia. The Malayan tradition of this geography which is located in the Borneo Island of Southeast Asian Seas derives deep linkages be it, linguistic, anthropological, ethnic, architectural, religious motives, customs and traditions, norms from India, South India, including words say for example ‘deerghayu’, ‘anugrahhariguru’. There are co-traditions where the Indian manner of greeting the namaskar and pranam is the official manner of greeting the His Majesty,” he added.
PM Modi will be on a visit to Brunei from September 3-4. This will be the first ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei. The visit coincides with 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Brunei.
Highlighting the deep linkages between two nations, he said that India and Brunei have had trade linkages. He called Brunei a location of one of the depeest natural harbours. He noted that Indian diaspora in Brunei is 100 years old and termed it a layered phenomenon that began with discovery of oil in Brunei.
The Indian envoy said, “We have shared very deep historical linkages, especially from the southern part of India from the ports of Tamil Nadu from the historic times. In the pre-modern and the colonial era and pre-colonial era also, there had been trade linkages with the traders of Malabar and Gujarat coast coming into this geography.”
“So we have traded our sailors, traders, merchant pilgrims have applied these waters these oceans for centuries for millennium and then these these exchanges were layered over time with the colonial contacts, the spice trade, the seafarers also, the Buddhist pilgrim routes, the preachers of the Buddhism who would access the Southeast Asia and the countries of Far East through these oceans,” he added.
Speaking about the Indian diaspora in Brunei, he said, “As you are aware, Brunei is a location of one of the deepest natural harbors, ancient harbors in this geography which is as we speak, about ten miles north from here, where plentiful of Indian vessels merchants merchandise have been coming to these oceans and in modern times, Indian diaspora here is practically 100 years old that also is a very layered phenomenon that began with the discovery of oil here in 1929- 1930s.”
“In modern times, that was, you know, supplemented by professionals like doctors, teachers. engineers. In earlier days, a lot of bluecollar workers but now more professionals. So, it’s an ongoing relationship exchange and bond and with the coming with the visit of the Prime Minister of India, obviously these exchanges will be fortified, consolidated and they will get a new direction,” he added.
Alok Amitabh Dimri called teh Act East Policy a signature initiative of PM Modi. He stressed that ties between India and ASEAN have been “traditional and deep” and added that Act East Policy has come as a propyling force in carrying that ties further.
On key objectives of PM Modi’s visit to Brunei, he said, “As you see that the Act East Policy has been a signature initiative of Prime Minister Modi and India-ASEAN relations have been very traditional and deep and this initiative has comes as a propyling force carrying that relationship further. So, essentially with the emergence of India as a global power as a global entity of force, be it, demography, economy, society and in any other sense essentially that natural…of that evolution of India as a country has begun finding its footprint in geographic locations.”
He stressed that many of the Southeast nation countries east of the Malacca Strait traditionally have been far more closer to India than many of the Central Asian nations which are geographically far closer.
Indian envoy said, “It may not be as close to India geographically, but as we say that in terms of geoeconomics and geopolitics, it’s the frequency and the ability of access which determines your neighbors, not the geographical distance. And in that, sense Brunei and many of the Southeast nation countries east of the Malacca Strait traditionally have been far more closer to India as neighbors than you know many of the Central Asian countries which are geographically far closer but separated by inhospitable terrain.”
“So, the point being Brunei and Malaysia and basically the Malayan Federation of Southeast Asia along with Indonesia have been very close neighbors of India where our interactions exchanges ships and vessels. So essentially this visit is about taking a stock of ongoing exchanges and consolidating those bonds and finding new ways of taking this relationship forward,” he added.
Addressing a special briefing in the national capital on PM Modi’s visit, Secretary East, Ministry of External Affairs, Jaideep Mazumdar said that defence constitutes an important pillar of cooperation between India and Brunei.
Detailing the Prime Minister’s visit to Brunei and to Singapore, the MEA official said that PM Modi is travelling to Brunei at the invitation of Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah. Following this, he will travel to Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of Singapore PM Lawrence Wong.
