Twenty minutes in the presence of the Sultan

We didn’t wait for a long time in the Sultanate of Brunei until we have met the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah who - as we expected - was calm, smiley and a good listener, and despite the time constraints because of preoccupation of His Majesty; we benefited a lot of his guidance and advices regarding humanitarian acts, and it surprised us more to not face any protocol complexity at the court of the Sultanate, as once we entered the Sultans Palace " Astana" everyone was smiley and friendly, specially that we did not mention politics, current events or what is happening here and there, as well as we did not talk about misfortunes and calamities that afflict some nations. His Majesty talked briefly on humanitarian acts and the steps taken by Brunei to strengthen its economy and diversify sources of income... The Sultan talked as a father, skilled expert and a mentor advising; we were listening and benefiting of that opportunity so we can know more, understand deeper and analyze more properly. The time allocated for this interview was twenty minutes and it’s not a little time according to kings and sultans, we felt that we went out with a useful and sensitive guidance especially with regard to humanitarian acts in those areas.
Perhaps the biggest advantage we have made is really the privilege of meeting His Majesty on the land of peace, love and safety...Brunei Darussalam.

Dr. Rasheed bin Mohammed Altokhi