Brunei - Agrifood Trade and Investment Opportunities

On behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we invite you to express your interest in attending the briefing "Brunei - Agrifood Trade and Investment Opportunities".

Join Dr Nur Rahman, Australia’s Business Champion for Brunei and Group Chief Operations Officer, FarmFresh Industries, for an exclusive discussion on agrifood business opportunities in Brunei. The briefing will also showcase key insights from Asialink Business’ Brunei Doing Business Guide.

Although Brunei is a small export market, there are targeted opportunities for Australian businesses. Brunei relies mainly on imports to meet its food requirements and seeks to expand its agrifood, horticulture, aquaculture, and halal-certified food industries. Queensland’s strong trade connections with Brunei make it a key partner for agribusiness expansion, investment, and food export opportunities.

Participants will gain market and sector insights, regulatory knowledge, and hear from Australian businesses already exporting to Brunei.  

To express your interest in attending, please complete the form here. 

As this is an invite-only event, we will review submissions and contact eligible organisations with further details. Places are limited and we are prioritising submissions from Australian businesses with an interest in agrifood trade and investment. Expression of interest does not guarantee attendance. For any queries, please contact asialinkbusiness-events@unimelb.edu.au

We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you.

Dr Nur Rahman, Australian Business Champion for Brunei | Group Chief Operations Officer, FarmFresh Industries

Dr Nur Rahman has been appointed as the “Business Champion” for ASEAN (Brunei) by The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese MP during the ASEAN Australia special summit in Melbourne on 5 March 2024 to work as an advisor to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to increase investment and trade under: Invested- Australia’s strategy for Southeast Asia to 2040. He commenced on the role since March 2024 and is in a process for implementing several investment projects. As part of this, Dr Nur travelled to Brunei, Singapore, Lao and Philippines and has had successful bilateral meetings with head of the government including several ministers, government agencies and diplomats.

Dr Nur is also the Group Chief Operations Officer for FarmFresh Industries – a leading organisation that is dedicated to enhancing food security in the ASEAN region by implementing sustainable agricultural practices and innovative food production methods for the benefit of local communities and economies.

He is also Executive Director of Pristine Pacific Australia that exports Australian made products to international markets

Michael Hoy, Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam

Michael Hoy is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) with substantive posted and policy leadership on Southeast Asia. He was most recently Senior Adviser, Quad at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He was part of the leadership team responsible for the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit and was Director of DFAT’s Indonesia Political Section for the signing of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Plan of Action. Michael played frontline leadership roles in Kabul for the 2021 humanitarian evacuation and in Kyiv during the MH17 response. He has previously served overseas in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Belgium, Japan and at Australia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Michael speaks Vietnamese, Japanese and French.

Leigh Howard, CEO, Asialink Business

Leigh Howard is the CEO of Asialink Business, Australia’s National Centre for Asia Capability, and one of Australia’s leading voices on international business. A passionate advocate for Australian business success in Asian markets, Leigh spent 20 years in Asia as a corporate leader and entrepreneur.

Leigh previously held senior executive roles with digital giant TradingPost.com and ASX-listed staffing company Talent2. He also served as Victoria's Deputy Commissioner to Southeast Asia. Leigh actively contributes to organisations shaping Australia-Asia business relations, including as a Founding Board Director of AustCham ASEAN, Advisory Board Member for the Australia-Vietnam Policy Institute and ex-Chair of the Malaysia Australia Business Council. Globally recognised, Leigh was invited to join the B20 Taskforce for Digital Transformation in 2023 and again in 2024.