Ambassador Nestor Z. Ochoa and Madame Mayie E. Ochoa hosted Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and Mrs. Rhodora H. Gazmin who were in Brunei Darussalam on 14-16 July 2012 as special guests of His Majesty The Sultan on the occasion of the monarch’s 66th birthday.

Other foreign dignitaries invited to His Majesty’s celebration included Her Royal Highness Princess Basma of Jordan, Chief Minister of Sabah Y.A.B. Datuk Haji Musa Aman, Chief Minister of Sarawak Y.A.B. Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, Thailand’s Minister of Energy Arak Chonlathanont, Singapore’s Minister of Transportation Lui Tuck Yew, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird, and Indonesia’s Minister of Education Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nuh.

Festivities celebrating His Majesty’s 66th birthday were held on Sunday, 15 July 2012, and began with the annual parade at Taman Square.

The ceremony started with the monarch inspecting the guards of honor followed by a 21-gun cannon salute.

This was followed by a march-past by the Royal Guards of Honor at the center of the square and a fly-past by the Royal Brunei Air Force, which the Sultan viewed while sitting on his daia beside Her Majesty, Rajah Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha.

Members of the Royal Family, special guests, members of the diplomatic corps and Brunei government were in attendance.

The celebrations then shifted to the Palace where His Majesty The Sultan delivered a royal address (titah) followed by an investiture ceremony which saw the monarch award honors and titles to deserving citizens of the Sultanate.

The highlight of the occasion was the traditional Royal Banquet held in the evening attended by special invited guests and other VIPs, members of the cabinet and diplomatic corps, and other key officers of the Brunei government. END