Brunei (Commonwealth Union): During her Brunei visit, Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister of Sustainability and the Environment, met with Dato Seri Setia Dr. Haji Abdul Manaf Bin Haji Metussin, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, and discussed food security, ways to enhance cooperation between Brunei and Singapore, and how the two nations can complement each other.
Fu disclosed this during an interview with local journalists at The Empire Brunei. The Singapore Minister stated, “We are both small nations with a less population, but obviously Brunei has a lot more land than Singapore, and in Singapore, we would like to think we have some know-how, for instance, in the area of fish-rearing”. She also described how
Singapore’s expertise in areas such as maritime space and human resources can be beneficial for Brunei and Singapore to achieve a sustainable and secure food supply in the Sultanate, which could benefit both the Bruneian food sector and the Singaporean populace.
Further, Fu stated that the eggs and fish exports to Singapore can offer new business opportunities to local farmers and investors, resulting in higher economic returns on investments as well as a new food supply for Singapore. Fu added, “Given the environmental conditions here, the water and air are pure, and it gives us a great assurance that we are able to secure the supply. It’s win-win situation on both nations, and I think post-pandemic, that’s something we need to think about – resilience of supply – whether it’s in food or in any other way.”
According to her, this is an area where Singapore and Brunei can have further negotiations and expand collaborations, such as food safety, where exported food must satisfy particular production parameters to guarantee safe consumption, which is of mutual interest to both nations. As part of her Brunei tour, the Singapore Minister also visited Golden Chicks Livestock Farm Sdn Bhd in Sungai Petai, Labi, Kuala Belait.
Fu said that reduced handling by people will reduce the time the food supply is ready for export, resulting in fresher food arriving in Singapore and having a longer shelf life, which is good news for the Brunei farming sector. She also stated that the purpose of the working tour is to introduce new food supplies to Singapore and export opportunities for Bruneian farmers, as well as to guarantee that safety requirements are followed and that both nations may begin on a solid footing in terms of confidence and perception of quality.
