by Sharleen Othman'To be a place of choice' for investments, high standards of living
BRUNEI should strive to be a competitive nation and a centre for international activities, Minister of Communications, Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdullah, said yesterday.
"If we are a competitive nation, then Brunei will be a place of choice, a place where others are keen to invest and we would have high standards of living and high availability of jobs," Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah told The Brunei Times.
Present as guest of honour at the International Graduate Studies College (IGS College) Brunei convocation, the minister said good communication links are necessary in achieving such goals.
"Basically we want to make Brunei a centre of things," he said.
Following a signing on April 28 with Malaysian company Booz & Co Sdn Bhd, a 13-week study will be conducted on Brunei's transportation and logistics system. The study is aimed at possibly creating Brunei as a logistics hub in the region.
"We want people to come and go from Brunei and conduct businesses in Brunei," adding, any cooperation from neighbouring countries to achieve this vision is welcomed.
The minister aspires for Brunei to have good transport and communications links. "Good internal transport links are prerequisite to facilitate and promote economic and social activities locally while international transport links are indispensable to the economic development, logistics and trade activities," he said.
Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah further said that Brunei was currently lacking behind in terms of advancements in ICT as compared to other countries. "We are looking at ways to make access better by cooperating with other agencies."
He said that good communications, especially telecommunications, were a must in this digital era, adding that such links are "the lifeblood of trade, transaction and banking and other economic activities."
The Brunei Times
