The Library of the University of Brunei Darussalam 

The Library of the University of Brunei Darussalam is located on Tungku Highway, formerly known as Tungku Link Road, a major highway in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei.

The University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD) was founded in 1985, comprising nine academic faculties and seven research institutes covering the fields of science, health sciences, Asian studies, policy studies, education, business, engineering, biodiversity, advanced materials & energy sciences, advanced research, applied data analytics, Islamic studies, leadership, innovation & advancement.

The Thammasat University Library owns a number of books about Brunei Darussalam, including one published by the University of Brunei Darussalam.

According to the website of the Library of the University of Brunei Darussalam, its vision and mission are as follows:

• Our Vision

A world class university library with comprehensive information provisions to serve the needs of the teaching, learning and research community.

• Our Mission

Excellence in library and information service to support the teaching, learning, and community service activites to the University by providing client-oriented, innovative, and competent professional services; by building strong and relevant resource collections; by managing an efficient and effective system; and by implementing and utilizing available and relevant technology.

The library collections are based on the teaching, learning and research needs of the university. There are over 600,000 items in print and electronic formats. The majority of the collection are in English, and about 20 percent are in Malay and the rest are in other languages.

The Special Collections are kept at the Brunei Studies Collection, which is home to the library’s rare books, manuscripts, and the University publications and archives. Some of them had been selected and digitized for the Bruneiana Digital Collections.

As of 2016, UBD Library has created 94 digitized collections that are accessible online, with items ranging from local and Borneo collections, UBD publications and past year exam papers, rare books, and manuscripts.

Thailand and Brunei

As the website of the Royal Thai Embassy, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam indicates,

Thailand and Brunei Darussalam established diplomatic relations on 1st January 1984 and have since enjoyed close and cordial relations, which over the years continued to be strengthened through numerous exchanges between the monarchs as well as governments.

Bilateral relations between both countries are dynamic and enhanced through cooperation in various areas of mutual interest. Thailand-Brunei relations are further strengthened by close cooperation in multilateral regional and international platforms such as ASEAN, United Nations, APEC, NAM and OIC…

Among examples of government-level cooperation was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on health cooperation signed in September 2016 between BNH Medical Centre Limited and the Ministry of Health of Brunei.

The MoU is aimed at enhancing health cooperation between both countries through the exchange of medical professionals, joint projects in medical research, joint seminars and training programmes, and transfer of patients to undergo treatment at the BNH Medical Centre Limited.

Progress is also currently underway on the MoU on Agriculture Cooperation signed in March 2015, including cooperation on rice production. This initative led to a delegation from the Thailand Rice Department visiting Brunei in September 2016 to offer expertise on enhancing local rice production in Brunei.

Local estimates are that 2,400 Thai nationals currently live and work in Brunei. University student exchanges and government visits are frequent. In 2015, almost 14,000 Bruneians traveled to Thailand, an increase of some 20 per cent over the previous year.

In terms of economic cooperation, major Thai exports to Brunei Darussalam include auto parts and accessories, rice, cement, sugar, iron and steel products, pet food, air conditioning and components, aluminium products, canned and processed fruits and ceramics

Thailand mainly imports crude oil from Brunei. Other imports include chemical, iron and steel products, other metal ores and scrap metal, frozen and processed seafood, automobile parts and accessories, heavy machinery and components, paper pulps and electrical machinery

Both nations cooperate in agriculture, energy, education and halal cooperation and Thailand currently seeks to invest in Brunei’s oil and gas sector and develop joint projects in renewable energy.

Last year, an article in The Diplomat underlined the defense aspect of the Thailand-Brunei relationship:

Thailand and Brunei share a bilateral relationship that extends to the defense domain as well. Security ties include not just interactions, such as visits and exchanges, between the two countries directly but also multilateral ones, including within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where Thailand is holding the annually rotating chair during 2019 (a position Brunei will hold in 2021 after Vietnam’s turn in 2020).

One forward-looking iniative is Brunei Vision 2035 (Wawasan Brunei 2035) which, as the website of the The Embassy of Brunei Darussalam to the United States of America observes,

is a plan to reduce Brunei’s dependence on oil and gas sectors, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, financial sector and tourism.

The Brunei Economic Development Board offers the following insights:

BRUNEI VISION 2035 -WAWASAN 2035

Brunei Vision 2035 aims to turn Brunei Darussalam into a nation widely recognized for:

• the accomplishments of its well educated and highly-skilled people as measured by the highest international standard;
• quality of life that is among the top 10 nations in the world; and
• dynamic and sustainable economy with income per capita within the top countries in the world.

To accomplish the above goals, eight strategies have been identified as follows:

• An education strategy that will prepare the youth for employment and achievement in a world that is increasingly competitive and knowledge-based.
• An economic strategy that will create new employment for the people and expand business opportunities within Brunei through the promotion of investment, foreign and domestic, both in downstream industries as well as in economic clusters beyond the oil and gas industry.
• A security strategy that will safeguard Brunei’s political stability and sovereignty as a nation which links the defence and diplomatic capabilities and its capacity to respond to threats from disease and natural catastrophe.
• An institutional development strategy that will enhance good governance in both the public and private sectors, high quality public services, modern and pragmatic legal and regulatory frameworks and efficient government procedures that entail a minimum of bureaucratic “red tape”
• A local business development strategy that will enhance opportunities for local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as enable Brunei Malays to achieve leadership in business and industry by developing greater competitive strength.
• An infrastructure development strategy that will ensure continued investment by government and through public-private sector partnership in developing and maintaining world-class infrastructure with special emphasis placed on education, health and industry.
• A social security strategy that ensures that, as the nation prospers, all citizens are properly cared for.
• An environmental strategy that ensures the proper conservation of our natural environment and cultural habitat. It will provide health and safety in line with the highest international practices.

In order to realise the Brunei Vision 2035, the strategies listed above will need to be developed by both government and private bodies and implemented as a well-coordinated national strategy.

Among scholarly research on the subject of Brunei Vision 2035 was an article published earlier this year in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Research and Development by Ajarn Ramida Chanpornpakdee and Ajarn Songchai Thongpan of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University. The article was entitled:

“Wawasan Brunei 2035”: Thailand’s Trade and Investment Opportunities

Its abstract reads as follows:

Because oil, which is the main income of Brunei, is about to run out Brunei is aware of the importance of accelerating national reform and structural change in order to cope with the situation. This research therefore has two objectives which are (1) to study the economic reform policy under the Wawasan Brunei and (2) to study the potential and opportunities for trade and investment of Thailand in Brunei. This research uses research methods, documents and interviews with representatives of relevant agencies.

          The study found that the Wawasan Brunei is committed to pushing people to have a better education. Have skills, high knowledge and good quality of life, have a good standard of living Political stability Create an economy that is dynamic and sustainable. And maintain society with sustainable values. The development will go through eight main topics and will be implemented under the national development plan. The Wawasan Brunei giving Thailand the opportunity to invest in Brunei in 5 areas, namely agro-industry, fishery industry, halal industry, tourism industry and investment for Small and Medium Enterprises.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)