Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam has sent a condolence message to Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa following the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela, according to the Radio Television Brunei(RTB) news reports on Saturday.

In the message, the Sultan said the late former president of South Africa would be missed not only by the South Africans but also by a world that saw him as a beacon of hope and courage and as a moral force in international affairs.

The Sultan said he fondly recalls visits of Mandela to the country and that the people of Brunei Darussalam joined him in expressing their deepest condolences to Zuma, as well as the government and people of South Africa, especially Mandela's relatives.

South Africa's first black president, passed away on Thursday at his home in Johannesburg following a long illness at the age of 95.