Anthony Albanese Brunei visit sees talks with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on fuel supply and Middle East crisis

One of the world’s richest men will welcome Anthony Albanese to the gold-studded royal palace of Brunei Darussalam, with the prime minister seeking to leverage Australia’s food exports in a bid to shore up long-term fuel supplies.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, currently the world’s longest-serving head of state, is expected to discuss the oil crisis driven by the war in the Middle East with Mr Albanese, during the pair’s official talks on Wednesday.

While Brunei is a smaller fuel producer than other countries in the region such as Singapore and Malaysia, Australia still imports nine per cent of its diesel, 11 per cent of its crude oil and 11 per cent of its fertiliser-grade urea from the tiny sultanate.

Australia is also a large provider of food to Brunei, having supplied around three quarters of its meat imports in 2024.

Mr Albanese’s approach of focusing on what Australia brings to the table echoes his negotiations with other Southeast Asian nations including Singapore, where he has sought priority access to fuel supplies by guaranteeing shipments of critical goods like liquified natural gas.

Alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the prime minister will also tour Brunei Fertilizer Industries, meeting with chief executive Harri Kiiski as part of the government’s push to secure long-term fertiliser stocks which have also been impacted by interruption of trade through the Middle East.

Mr Albanese touched down in Brunei on Tuesday afternoon and laid a wreath at a memorial to Australian soldiers who helped liberate much of the nation, along with then-British Borneo, from Japanese forces during World War II.

For Senator Wong the visit is also sentimental: during her childhood, the Malaysian-born politician lived in Borneo and visited the memorial.

The pair’s visit is front-page news in the local newspapers, with the English language daily Borneo Bulletin reporting on a visit to “strengthen energy and supply chain ties”.

Mr Albanese said it was a great honour to visit the country and meet the sultan, who lives in the world’s largest residential palace which includes a private zoo, reportedly containing Bengal tigers, and has ruled the strict Muslim monarchy since 1967.

His majesty’s extraordinary net worth, reported to run into the tens of billions of dollars, is largely derived from Brunei’s petroleum industry.

“I’m very much looking forward to meeting with His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei, and having the opportunity to reinforce what is a very constructive and positive relationship between our two nations,” Mr Albanese told reporters during brief remarks at the Muara Beach Memorial.