BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Feb 26 — Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is on an official visit to Brunei Darussalam, had an audience Tuesday with the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, at Istana Nurul Iman here.

Dr Wan Azizah was accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Senator Datuk Marzuki Yahya and the Malaysian High Commissioner-Designate to Brunei Darussalam, Ismail Salam.

The two-day visit beginning Tuesday is one of a series of familiarisation trips to fellow Asean countries by Dr Wan Azizah since being appointed the deputy prime minister last May. It is to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation established 35 years ago.

During the visit, Dr Wan Azizah is expected to look into new areas of cooperation in trade and investment that could be explored jointly.

Brunei Darussalam is an important trading partner of Malaysia, having chalked up bilateral trade to the tune of US$981.2 million (RM3.9 billion) last year. — Bernama