MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's president met on Thursday with the sultan of Brunei in Moscow for talks focusing on boosting bilateral trade.
"We are bringing our cooperation to a new level, which is embodied in the opening of the Russian embassy in your country's capital," Dmitry Medvedev told Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who is in Russia on a five-day visit.
Medvedev said the embassy in Brunei would promote and diversify links between the countries. He also said they planned to sign a bilateral cooperation declaration.
Moscow is seeking to increase trade with the southeast Asian nation to $50-75 million over the coming three to five years. Last year the figure stood at $0.8 million, mainly resulting from Russian exports. However, analysts have said mutual trade is unlikely to reach $200,000 this year.
Bolkiah arrived in Russia late on Sunday and has met with officials from Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport for discussions on the possibility of future arms purchases. Bolkiah was given a multimedia presentation of Russian-made air defense systems and shown a Ka-52 attack helicopter in action.
Russian media reports have said the government is also seeking access to oil and gas prospecting on Brunei's shelf, amid expert forecasts that Brunei's prospected reserves will be depleted in 15-20 years. The oil and gas sector is controlled by a joint venture of Brunei's government and Royal Dutch Shell.
