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
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