1. His Majesty Sultan attended the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) 65th anniversary celebration ceremony with members of the royal family

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam graced the grand ceremony in conjunction with the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) 65th anniversary celebration on 31 May.

Accompanying His Majesty were His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office; His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik; and His Royal Highness 920 Lieutenant Colonel (U) Prince ‘Abdul Mateen. At the event, His Majesty inspected the tri‑service honour guard and officiated the launch of the Defence White Paper Update 2026 (DWPU 2026) . His Majesty later viewed the Air Capability Static Display,the Special Operations Capability Demonstration, and the Military Capability Development Exhibition. His Majesty consented to the establishment of the Special Operations Command as the Command and Control Centre that will coordinate special operations between the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) Special Forces Regiment.

2. Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II attended the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting and reaffirmed Brunei’s support for the multilateral trading system.

Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, represented Brunei Darussalam to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting held in Suzhou, China from May 22 to 23.

At the meeting, the minister stressed the importance of maintaining open, resilient and secure supply chains, while reaffirming Brunei’s strong support for the World Trade Organization (WTO)-centred and rules-based multilateral trading system. He also highlighted frameworks including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Future for Investment and Trade Partnership serve as important foundations for future regional cooperation.

3. Brunei recorded a rise in its trade surplus in March 2026 and an increase in the consumer price index (CPI) in April.

Brunei Darussalam recorded a trade surplus of BND597 million in March 2026, an increase of 21.4 per cent compared to the same month last year, according to the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (DEPS) under the Ministry of Finance and Economy. Total trade rose by 35.4% year-on-year to 2.72 billion Brunei dollars; exports increased by 32.7% to 1.66 billion Brunei dollars; and imports grew by 40% to 1.06 billion Brunei dollars.

Compared to February 2026, Brunei’s total trade value surged 88.6 per cent in March, driven by a 70.1 per cent increase in exports and a 127.2 per cent jump in imports.

Brunei Darussalam’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.1 per cent in April 2026 compared to the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis, the CPI in April increased 0.5 per cent from March 2026.