Japan and Brunei signed a free trade deal on Monday, in resource-poor Japan's latest move to secure stable supplies of oil and gas. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei signed the agreement in a ceremony at Abe's official residence in central Tokyo.
Oil and liquefied natural gas account for virtually all Brunei's exports to Japan, while Japan exports mostly cars and auto parts to Brunei. The pact requires existing energy contracts to be given serious consideration in the event Brunei were to restrict energy exports in a crisis, and commits the two countries to strengthening ties in the field of energy.
The deal also commits Japan and Brunei to eliminating tariffs on about 99.9 percent of bilateral trade within the next 10 years. That bilateral trade amounted to 264 billion yen ($2.14 billion) in 2005, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Tariffs on Japan's auto exports to Brunei are to be abolished within three years under the new deal. "Prime minister, we are now, in the fullest sense of the word, partners," Hassanal told reporters after the signing. "My government and people are delighted," he added.
Abe said he was very happy the two countries had been able to sign the deal after only a year of negotiations. Japan already has free trade agreements with Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It sees the Brunei deal as another step towards a trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a whole.
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