His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to send a congratulatory message to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and members of the royal family on the joyous occasion of Her Majesty's birthday.

In the message, His Majesty stated that he greatly valued the long-standing friendship and goodwill traditionally shared by the peoples of Brunei Darussalam and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

His Majesty looked forward to continue strengthening the excellent relations between the two countries in the coming years.

His Majesty ended his message by conveying his kindest regards and very best wishes for Her Majesty's continued good health and happiness as well as for the continued prosperity of the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

His Majesty also sent a similar congratulatory message to Mr David Cameron MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and to the government and people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on this occasion.

His Majesty greatly appreciated the excellent relations and warm friendship that had long been shared between the two countries. His Majesty also looked forward to strengthening these much-valued ties in the coming years. His Majesty ended his message by extending his kindest regards and very best wishes to Mr Cameron.

His Majesty also sent a congratulatory message to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, on the occasion of the 112th Independence Day of the Republic of the Philippines.

In the message, His Majesty was pleased to note that the ties between the two countries had strengthened over the past few years with the existence of expanding cooperation and long standing friendship. His Majesty also thanked the President for her personal commitment in enhancing the partnership between the two countries, both bilaterally and regionally.

His Majesty looked forward to building on these strong foundations in deepening the ties between both countries even further as work continued towards achieving further prosperity and stability for both countries and the region.

His Majesty ended his message by extending his best wishes in all her endeavours to the President and also sent his kindest regards to the First Gentleman and family.

Meanwhile His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade sent a congratulatory message to Mr William Hague MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen's birthday celebration.

His Royal Highness sent his warmest respects to Her Majesty and the royal family, together with his congratulations to him and to the government and people of the United Kingdom on the Queen's birthday.

HRH said it was a great pleasure meeting the Minister of State in the recent Asean-EU dialogue, and HRH wishes his new administration much success in all its work.

"The very strong personal and professional ties that have long linked our countries and people are extremely important to us and I hope we shall have the pleasure of meeting you personally in the coming year."

Meanwhile HRH also sent a congratulatory message to Mr Alberto G Romulo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines on the occasion of their independence day.

HRH was very pleased to send his warmest congratulations to Mr Romulo and the government and people of the Philippines on their 112th Independence Day.

HRH said it has been a great pleasure working with him in a very busy past year in a wide range of international and regional affairs especially with the international monitoring team and their application for observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

HRH also sent a congratulatory message to Sergei V Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on their national day.

HRH sent his warmest congratulations to him and to the government and the people of the Russian Federation on their national day. The past year has seen many significant developments in their relations and it has been a great pleasure working with him to open up new friendships and new opportunities for our people.

HRH was delighted with the successful co-chairing of the ARF inter-sessional meeting on security, and looks forward to continuing to strengthen their relations in all aspects of regional and international cooperation. - Borneo Bulletin (13th June 2010)