Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3rd and 4th September in Brunei as PM Modi is out for his official visits to Brunei and Singapore. This visit to Brunei will span for 2 days. It is the first visit done to strengthen the bonds between India and Brunei. It has been 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between both the country.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is the Prime Minister of Brunei since 1984. He is one of the few absolute monarchs remaining all across the world. He is the 29th sultan of Bruneian throne after the abdication of his father in the year 1967.
He is one of the wealthiest persons in the world with a net worth of 30 billion dollars. He is also the world's second longest-reigning current monarch and the longest-serving current head of state.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah owns world’s largest private car collection. This collection includes over 7,000 luxurious cars. The value of this collection is around 5 billion dollars. This collection of private cars includes around 600 Rolls-Royce cars.
This huge collection of Rolls-Royce cars has been registered in the official Guinness World Record. This collection also includes almost around 450 Ferraris and 380 Bentleys. In the year 2007, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah gifted a ‘gold-coated Rolls-Royce’ to his daughter Princess Majededah at her wedding. The 78-year-old Sultan also owns a private zoo that has 30 Bengal tigers and several bird species. His wealth is majorly derived from oil and gas reserves.
Recently PM Modi has posted on X about his official visit to Brunei and Singapore. His post reads, “Over the next two days, will be visiting Brunei Darussalam and Singapore. During the various engagements in these nations, the focus will be on further deepening India’s ties with them. India-Brunei Darussalam diplomatic ties complete 40 glorious years. I look forward to meeting His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.”
“In Singapore, I will hold talks with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. We are eager to further cement ties in key sectors,” PM Modi further added.