His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darusslalam converged with the other nine leaders of the 10-member regional bloc to focus Asean integration on food and energy security, as well as Asean's role in international affairs.

After the opening ceremony of the 18th Asean Summit yesterday, His Majesty also attended the Plenary Session, Asean Leaders' Meeting with Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Representatives; Asean Leaders' Informal Meeting with Youth Representatives; Asean Leaders' Informal Meeting with Civil Society Organisations Representatives; and a dinner hosted by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In the morning, His Majesty attended the opening ceremony of the 18th Asean Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center, which carries the theme: 'Asean Community in a Global Community of Nations'.

Also attending the opening ceremony were Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Diraja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa bin Pehin Datu Perdana Menteri Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Ibrahim, Speaker of the Legislative Council; Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim, Minister of Finance II at the Prime Minister's Office; and Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II; and other senior officials.

His Majesty then consented to attend the Plenary Session which was chaired by the Indonesian President, where he touched on strengthening Asean's capabilities in disaster management through joint training and capacity building and regular exercises at national and regional levels. His Majesty stressed the need for Asean to have a more coordinated and coherent approach to future emergencies and suggested that more work being done in disaster mitigation and preparedness.

His Majesty also focused on food security and called for strengthening of existing mechanisms by enhancing the region's strength in the area of food production especially on rice. His Majesty suggested looking for ways to ensure a stable supply of rice including the participation of the private sectors.

On energy security, His Majesty proposed for strengthening of cooperation in this area and stated that Asean should where possible, expedite its work programme as it strived to bring about a stable environment for energy security in its region. His Majesty also touched on the promotion of an Asean identity and underlined that sports and tertiary education exchanges could unite people in giving a sense of togetherness. In this regard His Majesty supported the proposals to establish an Asean Ministerial body on sports as well as tertiary exchanges.

His Majesty then highlighted the strategic role of young people in Asean's future work, where His Majesty called for the inclusion of Asean Studies in the national curricula as laid out in the Blueprint and Work Plan on Education. His Majesty believed this could help to promote greater sense of belonging and instill the importance of Asean to its young people in order to develop a more meaningful and responsible role for them. In this regard, His Majesty suggested more coordination and strengthening of the youth's participation in all field of Asean's work.

Accompanying His Majesty at the Plenary Session were Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim, Minister of Finance II (PMO), and Pehin Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II and other senior officials.

In the afternoon, His Majesty consented to attend the Asean Leaders' Meeting with Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Representatives.

Representing AIPA from Brunei Darussalam to the Meeting was Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Jaya Dato Paduka Awang Haji Judin bin Haji Asar, Secretary to the Council of Cabinet Ministers and Clerk to the Privy Council. Later in the afternoon, His Majesty attended the Asean Leader's Informal Meeting with Youth Representatives.

Attending the meeting as the youth representatives from Brunei Darussalam were Dayang Rozana binti Zulkipli from the Youth Development Centre of Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Awang Iswandy bin Ahmad, President of the AIDS Council (*see story).

His Majesty then consented to attend the Asean leaders' Informal Meeting with Civil Society Oganisations (CSOs) Representatives. The theme for the meeting was'Health in conjunction with Poverty Reduction within the context of the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals'.

Brunei Darussalam's Civil Society Organisations was represented by Dr Hamzah bin Haji Abdul Rahman from the Economic Bureau of the Tanjong Maya Village Consultative Council. Also in attendance at the afternoon meetings was Pehin Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng.

In the evening, His Majesty the Sultan consented to attend a dinner hosted by the Indonesian President and Datin Ibu Hajah Ani Bambang Yudhoyono in honour of Asean Leaders and their spouses at the Jakarta Convention Centre. - Borneo Bulletin (8th May 2011)