October 06, 2017•Update: October 06, 2017
By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte flew to Brunei Thursday evening for a state visit to attend the 50th anniversary of accession to the throne of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Duterte landed at the Bandar Seri Begawan International Airport via a presidential jet of the Philippine Air Force from Villamor Air Base.
The President was scheduled Friday to have an audience with Sultan Bolkiah before joining a Royal Banquet to mark the jubilee with Southeast Asian leaders and Middle Eastern royalty who will attend the event.
According to organizers, guests include Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Duterte's Brunei trip is his second. He visited the nation in October last year.
Brunei was supposed to be the first country to be visited by Duterte as President but he was forced to cancel his trip in September last year because of the Davao blast.
Prior to his departure Thursday, President Duterte told reporters in Manila that he had accepted Bolkiah's invitation because the Sultan is his good friend and a dear friend of the Philippines.
Bolkiah, 71, has been ranked among the wealthiest individuals or wealthiest monarch in the world.
Forbes Magazine estimated the Sultan's total peak net worth at US$20 billion in 2008. The Sultan's wealth is based on Brunei's oil and gas reserves.
Last month, six members of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) arrived in Mindanao to represent Brunei Darussalam in the fourth contingent of the International Monitoring Team (IMT).
The fourth contingent, which included four officers and two warrant officers, took over the duties of the third contingent of IMT.
Brunei is part of the Malaysian-led IMT that oversees peace efforts between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
It will observe the implementation of the cessation of hostilities between the Philippine government and the MILF, along with the socio-economic development aspects under the agreement.
Brunei's participation in the IMT in Mindanao dates back to October 2004, after the Philippine government and the MILF signed the ceasefire agreement in July 2003.
Brunei and the Philippines recently carried out a combined naval exercise, Exercise Seagull, to further enhance their operational and communications interoperability against seaborne terrorist threats and other transnational crimes.
