His Majesty’s meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron at Chequers

On a Monday morning in February in Buckinghamshire, His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei travelled by vintage Rolls Royce to Chequers, the Prime Minister’s official country residence, to be greeted by The Rt Hon David Cameron MP.

His Majesty and the Prime Minister were meeting to renew a longstanding agreement to station UK troops at the Garrison in Brunei for a further five years. The Garrison lies at the heart of a close bilateral defence relationship spanning over five decades. It is the UK’s largest permanent presence in this part of the world, also providing an opportunity for UK forces to undertake extreme environment training and to be ready to assist with humanitarian relief in a disaster prone region.

Both leaders discussed the international situation, including work to combat extremism and terrorism. There was economic discussion around the impact of low energy prices. The Prime Minister noted that British companies were already helping with the upgrade of Brunei’s sports infrastructure and offered any further expertise following the London 2012 Olympics. His Majesty acknowledged the excellent Brunei/UK collaboration over education. I noted that around 40 British universities would be visiting Brunei that very week to promote study in the UK.

After the formalities were over, the Prime Minister invited His Majesty on a personal tour of Chequers. This historic 16th century house was bequeathed as a country residence for British Prime Ministers nearly a hundred years ago. It has witnessed many historic occasions. Winston Churchill presented an avenue of beech trees in memory of his own “momentous days” at Chequers.