LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed Paul Scully as trade envoy to Brunei Darussalam. This is part of a whole-of-government approach to boosting bilateral trade, with a focus on priority markets and sectors. Scully will continue the work of his predecessor Mark Garnier , who was the trade envoy to Brunei Darussalam from 2016-2017. Garnier focussed particularly on supporting Brunei’s ambition to develop its financial services sector, and has retained his interest in Brunei since being promoted in 2017 as Minister for Investment at the Department for International Trade. Scully said, “I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Brunei. I see huge potential to build on the longstanding economic relationship between the UK and Brunei, and I look forward to maximising new opportunities in this exciting market.”
British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Richard Lindsay said, “I warmly welcome this appointment by the prime minister. The appointment of a new trade envoy is a very clear demonstration of the UK’s commitment to broadening our economic partnership with Brunei.” The British High Commissioner went on to note that total trade between the UK and Brunei was valued at £407m in 2015 and said that he would be working closely with Paul Scully to develop areas of bilateral economic cooperation in line with the economic development of Brunei Vision 2035. Scully has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam in South London since 2015. Prior to his election he had considerable experience of running small businesses. He serves on the International Development Committee, the Petitions Committee and is a member of the British Delegation on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Scully is half Burmese and takes a keen interest in Southeast Asia matters.
