इस्लामिक देश ब्रुनेई क्यों गए मोदी: आबादी 4 लाख, भारत से 8 गुना ज्यादा प्रति व्यक्ति आय, टैक्स नहीं फिर भी शिक्षा-इलाज मुफ्त कैसे

This is the first visit of an Indian PM to Brunei. The two countries will complete 40 years of diplomatic relations in 2024.

There is an island 7,486 km away from India, Borneo. There are 3 countries settled on it, one of which is Brunei. This is an Islamic country, where only 4 lakh people live. PM Modi is on a visit to this country.

The king of this place, Hassanal Bolkiah, had invited Prime Minister Modi. Till date, no Prime Minister of India had visited Brunei.

Then why has Modi reached this country surrounded by South China Sea on one side and Malaysia on the other. Know in the story why the small Brunei which follows Sharia has become important for India, how Brunei provides free education and treatment to the people without levying tax…

Bolkiah is the 29th Sultan of Brunei. He is known for living a luxurious life.

First of all, know about the luxurious life of the Sultan of Brunei
Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien is the 29th Sultan of Brunei. He has also been the Prime Minister of Brunei since the British left in 1984. Bolkiah is the longest-reigning king after Queen Elizabeth II. He celebrated a Golden Jubilee in 2017 after ruling for 50 years.

In a small country like Brunei, the Sultan is not only the most powerful person but also one of the richest monarchs. He was the richest person in the world until 1980. According to Forbes, Bolkiah’s net worth was Rs 1.4 lakh crore in 2008.

According to The Times UK, Bolkiah spends around Rs 16 lakh on a haircut. His hair stylist is called twice a month by a private chartered plane.

The Sultan of Brunei has a gold-plated private jet.

According to Daily Mail, the Sultan bought a Boeing 747 aircraft for himself which costs around $400 million i.e. around Rs 3,000 crore.

The interesting thing is that they spent 989 thousand crores on it. That is, accessories worth more than the cost of the plane were added, which includes gold wash basins and luxurious gold plated windows. The floor of this plane has a carpet with gold threads, which is handmade.

The Sultan’s luxury can be judged from the fact that after becoming the king, he built a palace worth 50 billion rupees. This palace is known as “Istana Nurul Iman”.

This palace has a garage to accommodate 800 cars. The special thing is that the walls of this palace are covered with gold. Spread over an area of ​​20 lakh square feet, this palace is also recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Istana Nurul Iman is the largest palace in the world. The dome of this palace is studded with 22 carat gold

Oil is the backbone of Brunei’s economy
Oil was discovered in the Seria area of ​​Brunei in 1929. The first oil well in Brunei was dug by the British Malayan Petroleum Company, which was named Seria-1. This well is now known as Royal Dutch Shell.

The discovery of oil has made Brunei an important oil producing country. The production of oil and natural gas is the backbone of Brunei’s economy. Brunei’s total GDP is US$1668.15 crore. More than half of the country’s total GDP comes from oil and gas exports. Oil exports have made Brunei one of the countries with the top per capita income in the world.

Due to the strong economy of the country, education and health facilities are available free here. Brunei has invested the income from oil in different sectors. Due to this, its economy is no longer dependent on oil only. However, a large part of the economy still comes from oil.

Brunei is a major player in the regional politics of Southeast Asia due to its stable economy.

The King of Brunei owns 500 Rolls Royces, including one that is covered in gold.

Brunei is known as a tax haven
Brunei is called a tax haven because of its tax policy and confidential laws. Due to this, business investors are attracted to Brunei. There is no tax on personal income in Brunei. This rule applies to both citizens and expatriates living in the country. Therefore, it becomes special for those who want to avoid paying income tax.

On the other hand, the corporate tax here is only 18.5%. Also, companies involved in international trade and shipping get corporate tax exemption or pay very low tax. This helps foreign companies to set up their business in Brunei.

There is no tax on the profit from investment and inheritance in the country. Apart from this, Brunei has made strict laws regarding banking confidentiality. This protects the confidentiality of the account holders. Due to this, foreign tax agencies are not able to get information about the accounts in Brunei. Because of this, people consider it safe to keep money in accounts here.

Currency exchange is not monitored in Brunei. This makes it easy to move capital out of the country and bring it into the country.

Some important questions and answers related to Prime Minister Modi’s Brunei visit

Question 1: Why has PM Modi gone to Brunei?
answer: To know the answer to this question, we spoke to Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak, an expert on South-East Asian countries. Niranjan is a research analyst at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi.

In response to this question, he says that recently the Presidents of Vietnam and Malaysia visited India. Indian President Draupadi Murmu has also returned after visiting Timor-Leste.

Now Prime Minister Modi has arrived on a visit to Brunei. After this he will go to Singapore. This shows how much importance India gives to the South-East Asian region.

Last year, Secretary East of the Ministry of External Affairs Saurabh Kumar had visited Brunei with a delegation. Here he had participated in a meeting of the foreign ministries. Then it was decided between the two countries that India and Brunei will celebrate the anniversary of the completion of 40 years of their diplomatic relations.

For this reason Prime Minister Modi has gone to Brunei.

PM Modi was received by Brunei’s Crown Prince Haji Billah.

Question 2: Why is this visit special for India?
answerNiranjan says that Brunei is special for India for 4 important reasons like defense, trade, energy and space technology. Apart from this, the mutual relationship between the citizens of both the countries is also very special. Indians living in Brunei are doing good work there.

Apart from this, Brunei is an important partner for India in the field of space technology. When India launches satellites, India has established ground stations at many places for tracking them. In view of this, India signed an MOU with Brunei in 2018. It was named Cooperation in Elementary Tracking and Command Station for Satellite.

At present, this station is working well for India. In this respect, the importance of Brunei increases.

In return, India is providing training related to space technology to the people of Brunei.

Brunei is an important partner of India in the field of energy. Brunei exports oil to India. However, in recent times, due to India’s increasing oil imports from Russia, oil purchases from Brunei have declined. But during this visit of the Prime Minister, an agreement may be reached between the two countries regarding gas.

On the other hand, Indian naval ships keep visiting Brunei in the field of defense. Now India is going to take this partnership forward and establish a Joint Working Group on Defense with Brunei. This group will also be established during this visit.

Question 3: Is this visit taking place in view of the China and South China Sea dispute?
answer: According to Niranjan, from India’s point of view, Brunei does not play a very important role in the South China Sea. However, Brunei is also one of the countries that has a dispute with China over the South China Sea. But there is no conflict between Brunei and China over this, as is seen between China and the Philippines. Brunei also does not seem to oppose China.

However, this does not mean that Brunei has accepted China’s claim. On the other hand, India also talks about finding a peaceful solution to the South China Sea according to international rules.

It is possible that India may reiterate this in the joint statement issued by both the countries after this visit.

In such a situation, it would be wrong to say that this visit is being made keeping China in mind. This visit is a part of India’s Act East Policy. Especially in terms of India’s relations with ASEAN countries.

Question 4: How important is this visit in terms of India’s defense exports?
answer: India is trying to promote its defence exports. India is trying to export as much defence material as possible under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. On this visit, there is talk of forming a Joint Working Group of Defence between the two countries. Its aim is also to promote India’s defence exports.

During this visit, the Tejas fighter aircraft deal may be discussed between the two countries.

Also know this information related to Brunei

Omar Ali Mosque built on the lines of Taj Mahal
The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque built in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei is one of the most beautiful mosques in South-East Asia. It is built on the lines of the Taj Mahal of India. It is inspired by Mughal architecture.

It was constructed in 1958. It was built by an Italian designer and British engineers. It is named after the 28th Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddeen III.

Marble from Italy was imported for the construction of the mosque. This makes it look white like the Taj Mahal. There is a golden dome on the top of the mosque, which is visible from many parts of the city. The minarets of the mosque are also inspired by Mughal architecture.

The interior of the mosque is also magnificent. The interior has chandeliers brought from England, carpets brought from Saudi Arabia and stained glass windows brought from Italy.

However, Taj Mahal is a mausoleum which was built by Humayun in memory of his Begum. Whereas this mosque is a place of worship.

There is a stone boat in the lagoon in front of the mosque which is connected to the mosque by a marble bridge. This boat is inspired by the 16th century Brunei Royal Boats.