Closing Remark

by

Mr. Haji Abdul Rahman Haji Chuchu

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakkatuh

Bismillahirrahman nirahim.

Yang Mulia Bapak Achmad Rofi’ie, Advisor of NAM Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation,

Distinguished Experts and Delegates from NAM Member Countries, Local participants,

Friends and Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Afternoon.

Today is our last gathering to discuss the common concerns of SMEs. Before we adjourn, I would like to thank the organising committee of this meeting for giving me the opportunity to say a few words in the closing session of the meeting.

Let me begin by saying that for every beginning there is an end. For the past two and half days, we have had extensive discussions on several issues surrounding business incubators and entrepreneurship. We have also considered approaches that could enable NAM member countries to collectively enhance our respective capacities in delivering business incubator services to SMEs as well as developing their entrepreneurship qualities.

From the concluding remark of Bapak Achmad Rofi’ie, I believe that we have achieved the objectives that were set for the meeting. The plenary sessions and the country reports provided us the opportunity of exploring issues and experiences or best practices of participating countries in implementing business incubators or entrepreneurship development programs. The three break-out sessions gave avenues to further discuss various concerns regarding business incubators and entrepreneurship. Two of those sessions dealt on the macro and the micro-level issues and the third one focused on the critical issues on the two topics. The break out sessions also enabled the meeting to come – up with some recommendations that could strengthen existing support programs for SMEs and consider mechanisms by which the NAM Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation can become a more effective institution in bringing SMEs into the forefront of economic development efforts. I appreciate the fact that our discussions were open and friendly. The suggestions that we made were constructive. I feel very much privileged to have participated as a resource person in this meeting.

Allow me therefore thank all of you for sharing with us your experiences in SME development, particularly on business incubation and entrepreneurship. Indeed those experiences have shown the common challenges that we share in coming up with better solutions to address the challenges that our respective SMEs face in these trying times. I hope that you have found this meeting an enriching, pleasant and enjoyable one. I also hope that this meeting has also brought a renewed vigour among us in pushing ahead with the task of strengthening further our various policies and programs for providing SMEs with an enabling environment for start-ups, expansion and internationalization. However, our tasks are not yet completed. I am confident that the NAM Centre would take our common aspirations into a more implementable form that could contribute to the realization of the continuing revitalization of the Non Aligned Movement that was highlighted by our leaders at Kuala Lumpur in February this year. By this I mean action programs, institutional coordination mechanisms and regional policy analysis and research on SME development as well as a way that those recommendations can reach the very top of NAM bureaucracy. In this way NAM would be more meaningful as an organisation addressing the economic issues of our SMEs.

I believe that our meeting has added another step in moving those agenda forward. It is my hope that this spirit of cooperation between Brunei Darussalam and other NAM member countries will continue to be deepened in the future and translated into increased trade, investment and tourism exchanges between ourselves.

To conclude, I would like to express my appreciation to the members of the various working committees, especially from the NAM Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation for their invaluable support. The outcome of the meeting is a tribute to your hard work and commitment.

Lastly, I wish all delegates a safe journey home and I hope that you will bring home wonderful memories of your stay in our country. I also hope that you will visit us again in the future for pleasure and business.

Thank you.

Wabillahi Taufik Walhidayah Wassalamulaikum Warahmatullah Hi Wabarakatuh