BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The European Union’s ambassador to ASEAN said there remains vast potential for cooperation between the EU and Brunei in several areas, including climate change, green growth, and sustainable energy.
Giving a keynote lecture at Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Sujiro Seam said the recent establishment of the European Union-Brunei Darussalam Partnership Facility provided a framework for more collaboration.
“We have a Partnership Facility that is designed to encourage dialogue and collaboration between the European Union and Brunei, exchanging ideas and best practices on the areas of mutual interests between the EU and Brunei,” the envoy said.
“After the Partnership Facility was launched in 2023, we had several events examining climate change, gender equality, and higher education opportunities in the EU and we will continue focusing on the new and emerging issues such as digital transition and artificial intelligence.”
Ambassador Seam stressed that fighting climate change remains a top priority for the European Union, demonstrated through a set of policies known as the European Green Deal, which aims to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050.
The keynote lecture was followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience, where the ambassador shared his thoughts on global and regional issues.
Students and academics also had the opportunity to learn more about the Erasmus+ Scholarships and the Horizon Europe Research Programme, the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation.
Following the event, Ambassador Seam held a courtesy call with UTB Vice Chancellor, Datin Professor Dr Hjh Zohrah Hj Sulaiman.
The EU-Brunei Darussalam Partnership Facility is a project under the European Union to promote bilateral cooperation and partnership between the EU and Brunei. It is coordinated by the EU Delegation in Jakarta and the EU Regional Team for Asia/Pacific based in Bangkok.