In its effort to stimulate economic growth, His Majesty’s government is actively promoting the development of various target sectors through its five-year National Development Plans. These outline the distribution of government funding and the budget allocated for development in various sectors of the country.
The current 9th National Development Plan (2007-2012) marks a strategic shift in the planning and implementation of development projects, as it is the first national development plan to have been formulated in line with the objectives of Brunei Darussalam’s recently launched long-term development plan, better known as “Wawasan Brunei 2035”, or “Brunei Vision 2035”.
Wawasan Brunei 2035 or Brunei Vision 2035 aims to turn Brunei Darussalam into a nation widely recognized for:
the accomplishments of its well educated and highly-skilled people as measured by the highest international standard;
quality of life that is among the top 10 nations in the world; and
dynamic and sustainable economy with income per capita within the top countries in the world.
To accomplish the above goals, eight strategies have been identified as follows:
An education strategy that will prepare the youth for employment and achievement in a world that is increasingly competitive and knowledge-based.
An economic strategy that will create new employment for the people and expand business opportunities within Brunei through the promotion of investment, foreign and domestic, both in downstream industries as well as in economic clusters beyond the oil and gas industry.
A security strategy that will safeguard Brunei’s political stability and sovereignty as a nation which links the defence and diplomatic capabilities and its capacity to respond to threats from disease and natural catastrophe.
An institutional development strategy that will enhance good governance in both the public and private sectors, high quality public services, modern and pragmatic legal and regulatory frameworks and efficient government procedures that entail a minimum of bureaucratic “red tape”
A local business development strategy that will enhance opportunities for local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as enable Brunei Malays to achieve leadership in business and industry by developing greater competitive strength.
An infrastructure development strategy that will ensure continued investment by government and through public-private sector partnership in developing and maintaining world-class infrastructure with special emphasis placed on education, health and industry.
A social security strategy that ensures that, as the nation prospers, all citizens are properly cared for.
An environmental strategy that ensures the proper conservation of our natural environment and cultural habitat. It will provide health and safety in line with the highest international practices.
In order to realise the Brunei Vision 2035, the strategies listed above will need to be developed by both government and private bodies and implemented as a well-coordinated national strategy.