BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

WORLD-RENOWNED economist and Nobel Laureate, Sir James A Mirrlees, will be in Brunei this week to speak at International Food and Biotech Investment Conference.

The Cambridge University professor will be delivering the keynote presentation at the event slated for May 12 to 14 at The Empire Hotel and Country Club.

Organised by the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), the event will serve as the official launch of the Brunei BioInnovation Corridor (BIC).

“The conference will bring together influential speakers and potential investors from around the globe to the country with an aim to discuss major topics that affect the ASEAN economy as well as Brunei Darussalam,” said MIPR in a statement.

Among the topics to be discussed at the conference are the development of the Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor, China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the Asian Infrastructure and Development Bank, Islamic finance, the global halal food and pharmaceuticals market, ecotourism and sustainable biodiversity.

“The BIC is also an important project to foster local employment and foreign investments. One of the key objectives of the conference is to demonstrate the potential of the BIC as well as the advantages of investing in Brunei Darussalam to overseas stakeholders,” said MIPR. In collaboration with Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), MIPR will also be organising a public lecture by Sir James A Mirrlees at the lecture theatre of UBD Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah (PAPRSB) Institute of Health Sciences extension building.

In this special lecture edition, Sir James A Mirrlees will speak on issues pertaining to the Asian economy.

Mirrlees has been a Professor at both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, and was frequently a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The lecture will take place on May 12 at 4pm and is open to all members of the public, as well as students and staff of UBD.

The Brunei Times