His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam at the recent G20 Summit 2021 in Italy highlighted the complementarity of ASEAN’s and G20’s themes, addressing people’s needs by taking swift collective actions to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his titah at the La Nuvola Conference Centre (The Cloud), the monarch, who was as ‘Guest of the Chair’, said that the pandemic has caused prolonged socio-economic disruptions as governments are forced to impose restrictive measures.
“COVID-19 has also exposed the fragility of global supply chains which contributed to the weakening of the global economy,” said the Sultan.
As such, His Majesty underlined that timely and universal access to COVID-19 vaccines will allow the re-opening of countries and thus, paving the way for the revitalisation of global trade and recovery from the pandemic.
“ASEAN is implementing its Comprehensive Recovery Framework to quicken regional recovery and is looking into digital COVID-19 vaccine certificates to facilitate safe cross-border travel and tourism,” added His Majesty.
Mental health, stated His Majesty, should also be given due attention as its impact will be costly to society and economies in the long-term.
In ending the titah, His Majesty stressed that countries cannot tackle these challenges alone and that a strengthened multilateral approach is therefore critical.
Upon arrival at The Cloud, the Sultan was welcomed by Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy as Chair of the G20 Summit 2021 Mario Draghi.
The theme for the G20 Presidency this year was “People, Planet, Prosperity”, with the First Session of the G20 Summit focused on Global Economy and Global Health.
Commencing with an Opening Statement from the Italian Prime Minister, the First Session was also attended by Leaders from G20 member countries, guests of the Italian Presidency, as well as international organisations.
On the day of His Majesty the Sultan’s arrival in Rome, the monarch was greeted by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brunei Darussalam to the Republic of Italy with residence in Paris, Datin Paduka Malai Hajah Halimah Malai Haji Yussof.
The monarch then held a bilateral meeting with President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella at Palazzo del Quirinale.
His Majesty received a trumpet salute and walked past a Guard of Honor mounted by members of the Republic of Italy’s Armed Forces before being greeted by the President Mattarella.
In the meeting, bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern were discussed.
Among others, trade and investment and tourism were highlighted to further strengthen the warm friendship between the two countries.
The Sultan also attended the G20 Leaders’ and Partners Dinner hosted by the President of the Republic of Italy held at Palazzo del Quirinale to welcome Leaders from G20 member countries, guests of the 2021 Italian Presidency, as well as international organizations to the 2021 G20 Summit. – Analisa Amu
This article was first published on 06 November 2021 in our Weekly E-Paper issue 166 | More stories here
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
