Bioprospectors have discovered a wide variety of
chemicals in the flora of these tropical forests. The Borneo rainforests
are some of the oldest in the world and are a reservoir of genetic
diversity which offers a rich source of medicinal plants, high-yield
foods, and other useful forest products.
Scientists from around
the world are coming to Brunei to discover beneficial chemicals or
compounds that occur naturally and which have huge scientific and
medical applications.
China is eyeing Brunei to
partner in its pharma industry as Borneo has for centuries supplied
Chinese traditional medicine with important raw materials.
The
Sultanate under the "Wawasan Vision 2035" is seeking a knowledge-based
transformation of society. It has adopted a strategy to diversify its
economy, based currently on oil and gas resources, and expand business
opportunities through promotion of investment, foreign and domestic,
both in downstream industries and in clusters beyond the hydrocarbon
sector.
The government has identified the sultanate's rich
biodiversity and educated workforce as key factors in promoting research
and development (R&D) and attracting overseas investors to partner
in projects.
Thus, the forestry department is going ahead with
plans for a biotechnology industry to develop pharmaceuticals from the
microbes found in the rainforests.
Japan-based National
Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) and Bruneian scientists
are researching the possibilities of using microbes for pharmaceutical
purposes.
Germany is another country looking to partner Brunei in pharmaceuticals culled from the Sultanate's diverse plant life.
After speaking to a cross-section of people during a recent visit to
the country, this correspondent got the impression that there is a lot
of opportunities in the R&D sector and Brunei can be a "valuable
partner" for Indian pharma and biotech industry.
Healthcare
industry observers point to how the world has in recent years seen a
resurgence in the traditional, complementary and alternative system of
medicine because of the rising medical cost.
Like elsewhere in
Southeast Asia, India's Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicare are in
use in Brunei because of the millennial historical and cultural contacts
between India and the region.
Brunei is bound in the north by
the South China Sea and surrounded by Malaysia. The coastal position
puts Brunei close to vital sea lanes linking the Indian and Pacific
Oceans. Brunei's earliest known history dates back to 6th century, when
it was called "Puni (a distortion of the Sanskrit "Baruni"), or "Poli".
Then a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom, it had linkages with the Sumatran
Srivijaya empire and the Majapahit empire of Java, Indonesia.
In the late 14th century, Brunei converted to an Islamic Sultanate when
its ruler, Awang Alak Betatar, married a Muslim Johore princess from
Malacca, and embraced Islam to become Brunei's first Sultan.
The total population of Brunei is a little over 400,000. About 67 per
cent are ethnically Malay, 16 per cent Chinese, almost 12 percent
Indian, European or Filipino, and 6 percent indigenous people like the
Iban, an ocean-going subgroup of the Dayak, Dusun and the Melanau.
Although Brunei's official language is standard Malay, English is
widely spoken and understood as the nation was a British protectorate
till 1984.
Oil and gas exports account for the bulk of
government revenues. But as reserves are coming down, Brunei in a bid to
diversify the economy is marketing itself as a destination for
eco-tourism and a financial centre.
Tourism professionals say
pristine rainforests, unspoiled coral reefs, mangrove-covered islands,
white sand beaches and accessible nature reserves offer visitors an
array of eco-tourism options.
The discovery of oil in 1929 had
brought a substantial number of Indinto Brunei in the sector and allied
services, and later into other professions such as teaching, medicine,
engineering, IT and banking.
India established diplomatic
relations with Brunei in 1984 after it got independence from Britain.
Brunei and India enjoy a fair degree of commonality in their perceptions
of major international issues, say officials.
Brunei is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Brunei supports India's "Look East" policy which aims at broadening its
strategic and economic outlook with Southeast Asian nations.
Indian high commissioner L D Ralte said, during a recent visit by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, there could be greater bilateral collaboration
in certain sectors.
"There are areas that we need to
concentrate on in order to improve our relationship further, such as
direct connections in transport, mutual recognition of education
degrees, diversification of our economic relationship (at the moment
this is mainly hinged on our petroleum imports from Brunei) and easier
movement of manpower between our countries."
There is also room
for more cooperation in information and communications technology,
particularly private sector collaborations and joint ventures.
Brunei is strategically located at the geographical heart of Southeast
Asia. It thus holds the promise of becoming a hub of air, sea and
Internet communication between India and the ASEAN countries.
Due to the small size of population and therefore consumer demand, most
of the goods from India come into Brunei through re-exports via Malaysia
and Singapore. The signing of the ASEAN-India Trade in Services and
Investment Agreement in December is expected to boost bilateral trade
and investment.
