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PM Modi Arrives In Brunei Darussalam On Historic 2-Day Visit

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PM Modi Arrives In Brunei Darussalam On Historic 2-Day Visit

Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei): Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the Bandar Seri Begawan Airport Tuesday afternoon as he began a two-day visit to Brunei Darussalam – the first ever bilateral trip by an Indian PM to the southeast Asian nation – at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

“As we celebrate the 40 years of our diplomatic relations, I look forward to my meetings with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other esteemed members of the Royal family to advance our historical relationship to new heights,” said PM Modi in his departure statement ahead of his visit to Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.

About PM Modi’s Visit To Brunei

During his visit, the Prime Minister will engage in bilateral discussions focusing on exploring new areas for cooperation in multiple areas like defence, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health, capacity building, culture, and vibrant people-to-people exchanges.

Last month, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar met Erywan Pehin Yusof, Foreign Minister of Brunei on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Vientiane and jointly launched the logo celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

About All The Meet Of PM Modi & Sultan Of Brunei

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Brunei Sultan met for the first time on the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Summit at Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014. They met once again during the 2017 East Asia Summit held in Manila. In January 2018, the Brunei Sultan, along with the 10 ASEAN Heads of State and Government, visited India for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. The leaders were also ‘Guests of Honour’ at India’s 69th Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2018. In 2013, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Brunei Darussalam to participate in the 11th ASEAN-India Summit and the 8th EAS Summit.

Crowned as the 29th Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in August 1968, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah undertook his first State Visit to India in September 1992. His second State Visit to India came in May 2008.

MEA On Brunei Darussalam Govt’s Support To India’s ‘Look East’ & ‘Act East’

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Brunei Darussalam government has been supportive of India’s ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’ policies for expansion and deepening of cooperation with ASEAN.

“Brunei is an important partner for India’s Act East Policy and our vision for the Indo-Pacific, and as we mark a decade of our ‘Act East’ Policy this year, the visit assumes additional significance. Brunei has been our country coordinator in ASEAN from 2012 to 2015 and played a key role in our further engagements with ASEAN and continues to do so today,” Jaideep Mazumdar, MEA Secretary (East), said ahead of the PM’s landmark visit.

Indian naval and coast guard ships have also regularly visited Brunei and two Indian defence companies – Bharat Electronics Ltd and MKU Limited – participated in the Defence Industry Exposition organised by Brunei Armed Forces in June 2024 for the first time. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah visited the Indian stalls during the expo and appreciated the Indian companies’ participation.

There are currently around 14,500 Indians living in Brunei Darussalam out of the total population of about 450,500 with more than half of the Indian expatriates being semi and unskilled workers, who work in oil and gas industries construction, retail businesses, etc. There is also a substantial number of Indian doctors and teachers working in Brunei.

About PM Modi’s Visit To Singapore

After Brunei, PM Modi will travel to Singapore – a country with which India is exploring enhanced cooperation in digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity, and advanced manufacturing areas.

In his departure statement on Tuesday, PM Modi said that he is looking forward to meeting Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong besides the leaders of Singapore’s vibrant business community.

“I look forward to my discussions to deepen our Strategic Partnership with Singapore, particularly in new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainable development. Both countries are important partners in our Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific Vision. I am confident that my visits would further strengthen our partnership with Brunei, Singapore, and the larger ASEAN region,” said Prime Minister Modi.

About The 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable Held In Singapore

Last week, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw led the Indian delegation at the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) held in Singapore on Monday. During their visit, the Indian ministerial delegation also jointly called on Singapore Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong who had led the Singapore delegation for the first ISMR held in New Delhi in September 2022.

“Glad that progress has been made on several fronts since our last meeting. And new ideas for cooperation are being pursued, including in advanced manufacturing and connectivity. These initiatives will pave the way for closer strategic cooperation and partnership between India and Singapore,” the Singapore PM said after his meeting with the visiting Indian ministers on Monday.

Business

India should remain vigilant after Myanmar’s crackdown on cyber scam hubs

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New Delhi, Oct 25: Amid the massive crackdown on cybercriminals in Myanmar, India needs to remain vigilant about numerous cyber scam centres in China-Myanmar border areas that target its citizens, according to a report.

The scam hubs in Kayin State, the Wa region, and the China-Myanmar border areas, where the central government’s reach is limited, lure victims with fake online job postings, confiscate passports, and force them to conduct fraudulent cryptocurrency and romance scams targeting victims worldwide, according to the report in India Narrative

“New Delhi, Beijing, and Bangkok have all demanded that Naypyidaw take action after hundreds of their citizens were trafficked into scam operations,” the report mentioned.

According to reports, a statement by Myanmar’s military information ministry said its forces had “cleared” KK Park, a synonymous with online fraud, money laundering and human trafficking for the past five years.

More than 2,000 people were detained, and around 30 Starlink satellite terminals used to maintain communications networks for scam operations were seized.

For India, these cyber hubs have become a mounting concern.

In March this year, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that almost 300 nationals had been rescued from cyber-scam compounds in Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. According to reports, up to 540 individuals were repatriated in a subsequent phase via Thailand.

Notably, a hybrid form of governance, blending armed-group control, corruption, and foreign criminal investment, has turned Kayin State into a cybercrime haven.

“For the Myanmar junta, the KK Park raid signals to neighbouring countries that it can enforce border security and control hybrid criminal-militia activities,” the report noted.

However, the challenges remain as the networks behind these compounds are deeply embedded in cross-border trafficking and crypto-fraud.

According to media reports, more than 5,400 Chinese suspects involved in telecom fraud in Myawaddy, Myanmar, have been repatriated in a joint crackdown on cross-border telecom fraud launched by China, Myanmar, and Thailand since the beginning of 2025.

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International News

UN says delivering aid to Gaza remains challenging

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United Nations, Oct 23: UN humanitarians have said that delivering vital support to northern Gaza remains challenging, even though the ceasefire took effect more than 10 days ago.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday that since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, the world body and its partners have made progress in scaling up response efforts, especially in central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip.

However, the continued closure of the Zikim and Erez border crossings, which provide direct access to the north, makes it extremely challenging for humanitarian aid to reach the area, OCHA added.

At the same time, UN partners monitoring population flows across Gaza have reported more than 425,000 movements from southern to northern parts of the strip since October 10, Xinhua news agency reported.

UN Population Fund Deputy Executive Director Andrew Saberton, who just returned from Gaza, told reporters that the agency was able to bring in some assistance last week through the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing.

“We have been distributing medical supplies and equipment, including incubators, delivery beds and fetal monitoring machines, that were prepositioned inside Gaza, to hospitals,” he said.

“But the trickle of aid being allowed to enter Gaza after the ceasefire is nowhere near enough.”

Inside Gaza on Tuesday, out of 10 humanitarian missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities, six were facilitated, including the collection of water tanks, hygiene kits and fuel from the crossings into Gaza, OCHA said.

Abeer Etefa, senior regional communications officer and spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP), said that since the ceasefire began on October 11, the agency has delivered more than 6,700 metric tonnes of food, enough for nearly half a million people for two weeks.

“Daily deliveries continue and now average around 750 tonnes,” she said, noting this remains well below WFP’s target of 2,000 tonnes a day.

“Unless all border crossing points are used, reaching this target is almost impossible.”

Currently, only the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings in the south are open. Severe destruction continues to block access to northern Gaza, where famine was declared in August. “We need Erez, we need Zikkim, we need these border crossing points to open,” Etefa stressed.

Reaching northern Gaza with large-scale convoys is a priority.

“We’ve cleared roads at scale into the north,” she said, “but we need these crossings open to connect to Gaza City, where conditions are especially dire.”

WFP is restoring its food distribution network, aiming for 145 distribution points across the Strip, of which 26 have reopened. “People are showing up in large numbers, grateful for the efficiency and the dignified way they can collect their rations,” Etefa said.

The aid is especially crucial for “the most vulnerable,” the women, female-headed households, and the elderly, she added.

While many are hopeful, “there is cautious optimism” about how long current conditions will last.

Many families save part of their rations because they are not confident the ceasefire will hold.

“It is a fragile peace,” she said.

Food prices remain prohibitive, and supplies are still insufficient. “People can find food in the market, but it’s out of reach because it’s extremely expensive,” Etefa warned.

WFP is also helping the most food-insecure households through digital payments, enabling about 140,000 people to buy food locally, with plans to double that number soon. But Etefa stressed that humanitarian aid alone cannot solve the crisis, and commercial supplies must enter to complement relief efforts.

Only a fully implemented and sustained ceasefire can allow WFP to operate at the scale needed, Etefa said.

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Crime

37 arrested in Greece over EU farm subsidy fraud

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Athens, Oct 23: The Greek police have arrested 37 people in a nationwide operation targeting a criminal network accused of defrauding the European Union’s (EU) agricultural subsidy system, authorities said.

According to the Hellenic Police on Wednesday, the operation was carried out by the Organised Crime Division in Thessaloniki, Pella, Ioannina, Attica, and Crete.

The suspects allegedly obtained EU farm subsidies through false declarations submitted to OPEKEPE, a public agency responsible for managing and disbursing agricultural aid schemes funded by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), in the course of the preliminary investigation, 324 individuals were identified as subsidy recipients, causing an estimated cost of more than €19.6 million to the EU budget.

Of these, 42 are believed to be involved in this case and are considered current members of the criminal group, the EPPO said.

Investigators estimate that the network illegally acquired between 5 million euros ($5.8 million) and 10 million euros out of more than 20 million euros in total subsidies.

Most suspects are not connected to farming, and the core group is believed to consist of about 10 individuals, Greek national broadcaster ERT reported.

The operation was conducted in cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which began investigating the case about 18 months ago, the report added. (1 euro = 1.16 US dollar)

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, under pressure due to his family’s political ties in Crete, vowed to imprison those guilty and recover the misappropriated funds.

He claimed the fraud began in 2016, before his 2019 tenure, and warned that Greece’s EU subsidies could be at risk if the issue isn’t resolved.

“Whatever the political cost, I am not backing down,” Mitsotakis told Skai radio.

Government Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis echoed the sentiment, stressing that public resources must not be embezzled for personal gain.

Several Ministers and Deputy Ministers have resigned over their alleged involvement in the scandal.

The EU has already fined Athens €400 million after finding evidence of systemic failings in the handling of farm subsidies from 2016 through to 2023.

Greece also risks losing its EU farm subsidies unless it provides an improved action plan on how it will stop funds being siphoned off into corruption.

The original deadline was October 2, but this has now been pushed back to November 4.

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