Brunei plays important role in regional economy, says US envoy

Brunei plays important role in regional economy, says US envoy

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

THE United States Ambassador to Brunei, William E Todd yesterday welcomed the launch of US negotiations to join the Trans Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) agreement. The agreement will allow the US to join the free trade pact that exists between Brunei, New Zealand, Chile and Singapore (the P4 group) whose broad objectives is to tear down trade barriers among participants within a decade.

In the press statement, Ambassador Todd said that he agrees with Ambassador Susan Schwab in seizing the opportunity to build on the economic strength of all partnership nations.

"Our nations are all leaders in traded goods and services and now is an optimal time to focus on enhanced economic development and stability for all of our economies," said the Ambassador.

He expressed his satisfaction in knowing that through the TPP "we (the US) can demonstrate our intentions to continue to actively engage in the Asia Pacific region." The Ambassador added that he plans to work closely with His Majesty's Government on these efforts.

Noting that the TPP could provide a foundation for and build momentum towards a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, Ambassador Todd said: "Ultimately, the objective is to expand the membership of the Agreement to other nations that share our vision of free and fair trade".

Todd also highlighted that the Asia Pacific region accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the world GDP, adding "I believe Brunei plays an important role in regional economy as we anticipate growth to remain high throughout the next five years."

The Ambassador also noted that with the recent announcement of the TPP Free Trade Negotiations, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) will be a critical issue and in a follow-up to the successful 'Conference on Effective Practices in IPR' held in Brunei last June, another workshop has been conducted to emphasise the enforcement and practises of IPR issues of both the US and Brunei. "The workshop is an excellent example of close cooperation between the Government of Brunei and the US," said Ambassador Todd, highlighting his embassy's continuous support on the efforts of Customs and Border Protection, the US Trade Representative and the Brunei Government to protect IPR in the country. (SRH1)

The Brunei Times