By STEPHEN THEN

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, MALAYSIA - Malaysia and Brunei have moved closer towards a lucrative oil and gas joint venture in the maritime territories along the Sarawak-Brunei border.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this was among the decisions taken in his consultations with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah which ended here yesterday.

The Prime Minister said the details of the oil and gas venture would be worked out later, adding that the services of national oil corporation Petronas had been proposed to Brunei to consider.

He said another key decision was the agreement between both countries to settle the land and maritime boundary demarcation.

'In principle, the land and maritime boundary issue has been agreed upon, with topography surveying and demarcation work on the ground being worked out.

'There is still a large section of land to be demarcated and it may take time. The agreement (on the land and maritime boundary demarcation) will be final,' he told reporters before concluding his three-day official visit to the oil-rich sultanate.

In March, Malaysia and Brunei had agreed in principle to an umbrella agreement to resolve outstanding overlapping claims on the land and maritime boundary concerning Limbang, a division in Sarawak sandwiched by the two borders of Brunei.

Both countries will also jointly invest in building more bridges along the 1,800km-long Pan-Borneo Highway stretching from the southern tip of Sarawak through Brunei to the eastern territories of Sabah.

Also being mulled are more ferry services in the Sarawak-Brunei-Sabah zone, and the use of smaller aircraft to reach remote destinations.

Malaysia is also eyeing major construction projects in the housing and industrial sectors mushrooming in the sultanate. Brunei and Malaysia are also exploring joint projects in third countries.

Brunei will also invest in new power generation projects coming up in Sarawak and in the halal food hub and oil palm projects in Sabah and Sarawak.

The Sultan, in his speech during a banquet hosted for Najib on Wednesday night, described Malaysia as a very important partner for Brunei in its quest to develop its socio-economy.