Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome by the members of the Indian community in Brunei Darussalam today.

The PM arrived in Brunei Darussalam this afternoon at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, for the first-ever bilateral trip by an Indian PM to the southeast Asian nation.

Upon his arrival, PM Modi was received by Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah at the Bandar Seri Begawan Airport and was given a ceremonial welcome.

After the guard of honour, the PM was welcomed by members of the Indian community who had come to see him. During his interactions, PM Modi could be seen signing a drawing of him made by a child as onlookers cheered the moment.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will engage in bilateral discussions that focus on multiple areas such as defence, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

“This visit is special as it is the first ever bilateral visit by an Indian PM and is taking place as the two countries are celebrating 40 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

The trip is part of a three-day bilateral visit to Brunei and Singapore. According to the MEA, the government of Brunei has been supportive of India’s ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’ policies for deepening cooperation with ASEAN.

“Brunei is an important partner for India’s Act East Policy and our vision for the Indo-Pacific, and as we mark a decade of our ‘Act East’ Policy this year, the visit assumes additional significance. Brunei has been our country coordinator in ASEAN from 2012 to 2015 and played a key role in our further engagements with ASEAN and continues to do so today,” MEA Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar told news agency IANS.