Brunei, 2013

On behalf of His Majesty the Sultan and

the people of Brunei Darussalam, I wish to congratulate

you, Sir, on your election as President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. We thank our

former President, Mr. Vuk Jeremi., for his efforts and

contributions over the past year.

Let me begin by expressing our sincere condolences

to the Government and the people of Kenya and to the

families of the victims of the terrorist attack. Such an

act deserves our condemnation. Our deepest sympathies

also go to those affected by the recent earthquake in

Pakistan.

Thirteen years ago before the Assembly, our

leaders made a promise to our peoples to fulfil their

hopes and expectations for a better life. This is why we

see the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a

highly important global partnership. It has shown us

that progress can be made if we work together locally,

regionally and internationally. I would therefore like to

place on record our expression of appreciation to our

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his predecessor,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for the support and commitment

provided by the United Nations to realize that historic

initiative.

We are now approaching the end of the 15-year

period. Like many other nations, Brunei Darussalam

has been able to learn much from its experiences in

implementing the MDGs. We understand the high

expectations for all to do well. However, we need to

consider the problems that some Member States are

struggling with. Those include limitations to natural

resources, political conflict, socioeconomic problems

and natural disasters. That is why this year’s theme is

so appropriate. It is focused on setting the stage. For

us in Brunei Darussalam, it means having a national

vision — Brunei Vision 2035 — that clearly provides

direction towards attaining a dynamic and sustainable

economy in the interests of our people.

In line with the Vision, we place great emphasis

on helping our younger generation realize their hopes.

We have done this by providing quality education,

encouraging innovation and creating better job

opportunities. We also do what we can to assist fellow

developing countries, either bilaterally or in partnership

with other countries and international organizations,

in human resource development, offering scholarships

to study in Brunei Darussalam and training under

community outreach programmes within the region. We

hope that the people-to-people approach will promote

cultural exchanges and understanding.

At the same time, our regional work has been

strongly influenced by other Member States’ efforts

to achieve the MDGs. Within the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), we have an agreed

plan to achieve an ASEAN community by 2015. Brunei

Darussalam, as this year’s ASEAN Chairman, has

chosen the theme “Our people, our future together”.

It signifies our people’s role in ASEAN’s community-

building efforts. In addition, we have also encouraged

our member States to start working on an ASEAN

plan beyond 2015, to further strengthen our mission

in promoting peace, stability and prosperity. We will

also continue to work together to strategically position

ASEAN in the wider region and the world at large.

In that regard, we are pleased that Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon has accepted our invitation to

come to Brunei Darussalam for the fifth ASEAN-

United Nations Summit. We look forward to sharing

our views and experiences with him, and hope that will

strengthen cooperation between our Association and

the United Nations.

We are also encouraged by the recommendations

put forward in the recent report of the High-level Panel

of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Agenda on how

we can better assist our people in their daily lives by

providing food security and quality education and

eradicating extreme poverty. Overall, the MDGs have

offered us many lessons indeed, and now it is time for

all of us to move forward. Regardless of the statistics

of who has achieved the goals and who has not, we feel

that much has been attained through the very concept of

the MDGs. The Goals have opened up opportunities to

every Member to develop in its own way and to involve

its people in that development, even beyond 2015.

Unfortunately, the options open to some people are

severely limited. That is so when the basic, fundamental

right of self-determination has been denied. We refer

particularly to the people of Palestine, whom we

believe can attest to that. Their legitimate struggle for

a homeland of their own remains unresolved. Hence,

we support the calls of the international community for

intensified efforts towards realizing this basic right,

which we take for granted today.

The date of 29 November 2012 was indeed a

memorable day in the history of Palestine, when it was

accorded observer State status in the United Nations

(see A/67/PV.44). I would like once again to express

our support for Palestine’s full membership and for its

people’s legitimate struggle to exercise their right to

their own independent and sovereign State.

The worsening situation in Syria continues to be of

serious concern. We join the international community

in condemning the use of chemical weapons, which

has caused the loss of lives in that country. More

importantly, we support all efforts, particularly those

of the United Nations, to find a peaceful solution to the

crisis. In that regard, we welcome the United States-

Russia framework agreement for the elimination of

Syrian chemical weapons and the recent adoption of

Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) on Syria.

Before I conclude, we would like to thank the

Secretary-General and all his staff, as well as the

United Nations Volunteers, for their hard work. We

highly respect the peacekeepers for the sacrifices they

have made in the maintenance of international peace

and stability. We hope that our efforts within various

United Nations agencies and bodies will lead us to the

future that we all want.