Amol asked: Has India neglected Brunei which can be a partner in India's energy security among ASEAN countries?

Rahul Mishra replies: Ever since the inception of Look East Policy, India has strived to seek a balance in terms of multilateral and bilateral engagement with countries of the Southeast Asian region. Even in terms of implementing the Look East Policy, no country has been given priority over the other.

As far as ties with Brunei is concerned, regular visits by the leaders from both the sides, including the May 2008 visit of the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, Hassanal Bolkiah, to New Delhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with the Sultan on the sidelines of the 10th ASEAN-India Summit in Cambodia in November 2012, testify the warmth in bilateral ties. Prior to the 10th ASEAN-India Summit, the then Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna had visited the country in October 2012. One of the objectives of his visit was to explore the possibilities of a long-term LNG supply from Brunei, which was also the country coordinator for India in the ASEAN in 2012.

The India-Brunei energy cooperation is going smoothly and the two countries are exploring the possibility of further cooperation in this regard. In fact, the energy sector holds lion’s share in the India-Brunei trade. Out of the total US $500 million trade, energy sector contributes about US $400 million. However, India and Brunei are also mulling over the possibility of diversifying and increasing the share of other trading goods, which includes joint venture investments in hotel industry and infrastructure development. Brunei is particularly interested in investing in the Indian hotel industry, which is open to 100 per cent foreign direct investment.