Foreign Secretary will arrive in Malaysia today (Sunday 7th November) as
part of a week-long visit to Southeast Asia to deepen economic
and security links with fast-growing and increasingly influential
countries.
Truss will visit Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in order to
strengthen the UK’s relationship with each country, reflecting
their growing economic and diplomatic heft. The Foreign Secretary
believes UK ties with key Southeast Asian nations are
“underpowered” and that deepening them will deliver jobs and
opportunities to the UK while boosting security and prosperity in
the region.
As COP26 continues in Glasgow, with a week of negotiations ahead,
the Foreign Secretary will build closer ties on infrastructure
investment into the region and step-up work through the Clean
Green Initiative to co-invest in reliable, sustainable
infrastructure with friends and partners.
Foreign Secretary, said:
I want to position Britain where the future growth is and to
think about who our major partners will be in 2050 and beyond.
Southeast Asia will be the engine of the global economy and I
want Britain to be part of that, upgrading our economic and
security relations with the region to reflect its growing
importance.
Deeper ties are a win-win, delivering jobs and opportunities for
British people while ensuring an open, secure and prosperous
Indo-Pacific. Working with key Southeast Asia partners will help
us promote freedom and democracy across the world.
The visit follows the agreement of a new partnership between the
UK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The
‘Dialogue Partnership’ formalises UK relations with the group,
including attendance at annual Foreign and Economic Ministers
meetings along with other Ministerial engagements. It will also
help advance discussions on closer economic and tech
relationships.
ASEAN is a market of 650 million people, predicted to be fourth
largest ‘single market’ by 2030 and trade between the UK and
ASEAN nations was worth almost £34 billion in 2020.
All three economies on the visit are projected to grow at a
faster rate than the world’s largest economy, the US, out to
2050*. Indonesian is forecast to more than quintuple its GDP
(PPP$) by 532% between 2020 and 2050 - with increases in Malaysia
and Thailand of 393% and 258% respectively.
In Malaysia, the Foreign Secretary will meet Prime Minister
Ismail Sabri to discuss defence cooperation, as well as trade.
She will also meet her Malaysian counterpart, Saifuddin Abdullah,
to forge stronger ties on maritime security and champion free
trade.
The Foreign Secretary will then travel to Thailand where she will
meet Prime Minister Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don
Pramudwinai to discuss deeper digital and tech investment and
security collaboration. As part of the visit, Truss will formally
open the new British Embassy in Bangkok and visit the Triumph
Motorcycle factory to promote British businesses in the region.
Finally in Indonesia, the Foreign Secretary will meet Foreign
Minister Retno Marsudi for talks on economic diplomacy, trade and
foreign policy issues including the Myanmar crisis and
Afghanistan. She will also meet the ASEAN Secretary General to
discuss deepening ties and working together to help the region
build back better. During the visit, will also forge closer ties with the Indonesians on
counterterrorism and cyber security.
Further information
*The Economist Intelligence Unit (2021) forecast
