BRUNEI WORKING ON IPR ENFORCEMENT, AIRPORT SECURITY

UNCLAS BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000158 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KIPR EAIR CVIS ETRD EWWT BX SUBJECT: BRUNEI WORKING ON IPR ENFORCEMENT, AIRPORT SECURITY ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador paid a farewell call on Minister of Communications Pehin Abu Bakar on May 19. The Ambassador thanked Abu Bakar for his Ministry's support for the USG-sponsored seminar on the protection of intellectual property rights scheduled to take place in early June, and stressed our continuing concern about poor IPR protection in Brunei. ¶2. (SBU) The Minister acknowledged the scope of the problem, noting that a recent study had estimated that 67 percent of the software being used in Brunei was counterfeit. He recognized that better IPR protection was an essential prerequisite for fostering the growth of Brunei's information technology industry and attracting foreign investors, and said the Ministry was working with industry on an information campaign aimed at government agencies which would be launched soon. Part of the problem was Brunei's low enforcement capacity, which he was trying to redress through training offered by Brunei's partners, primarily Singapore and Malaysia. ¶3. (SBU) Noting the Ministry's responsibility for transportation issues, Ambassador advised Abu Bakar that a high level of airport security would be one of the requirements for Brunei's continued participation in the Visa Waiver Program. The Minister said that ICAO officials carried out a detailed assessment of Brunei International Airport in November 2007 and February 2008, and made several recommendations. His Ministry was currently preparing responses to be submitted over ICAO's web-based compliance system, the use of which would ensure transparency about Brunei's actions on airport security. He added that one motivation for Brunei's plan to expand its current airport was that it would be easier to come into full compliance with ICAO recommendations though expansion rather than renovation of the existing physical infrastructure. ¶4. (SBU) The Minister said Brunei recognized it could not compete with large regional transport hubs such as Singapore, but did aim at becoming a feeder hub for the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area). It hoped to attract regional air traffic, planned to open a new passenger ferry terminal, and had been successful in raising the number of cruise ships visiting its port from six in 2007 to a scheduled twenty in 2008. Turning the container port into a sub-regional hub was more of a challenge due to the lack of significant export industries beyond oil and gas. Too many containers came in full but left empty, raising costs for shippers and making the port less attractive. Pehin Abu Bakar hoped that more vigorous promotion of Brunei's free trade zone as a site for export production could overcome this problem. He acknowledged Ambassador's observation that any manufacturing jobs so created would probably be filled by foreign labor, but said that the economic benefits resulting from greater use of the port would still make the effort worthwhile. FRIEDMAN