BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 2000 invited guests including members of royal houses from various countries and a number of leaders from Southeast Asian nations shared the joy with Bruneian people, when the sultanate celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's accession to the throne with a grand royal banquet on Friday.
Installed as the crown prince in 1961 at the age of 15, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah was proclaimed as the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam on Oct. 5, 1967 following the voluntary abdication of his late father. This year marks the 50th anniversary or Golden Jubilee of the Sultan's accession to the throne.
Besides royalties or senior officials from Britain and the Middle East, regional leaders including Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak also attended the banquet to deliver their best wishes.
Members of Brunei's civil service, the private sector and uniformed personnel also joined the banquet hosted by the Sultan.
