Lord Vaizey, Chair of the UK-ASEAN Business Council, shares his reflections from attending the ASEAN Business Investment Summit in Vientiane, Laos from 8-11 October

31 Oct

ASEAN is one of the fastest-growing parts of the global economy, with 700 million people, and many nations with strong and resilient economies.
Much of the focus on the region is on the growing importance of digital trade and renewable energy.
There is a real appetite to engage with the UK. As we rightly pivot back to better relations with the EU, we mustn’t lose sight of our need to continually engage with ASEAN.
ASEAN is developing - new leaders in many countries recognise the importance of the organisation and want to use it as a platform to develop common policies and protocols across the region.
A pit-stop in Dubai confirmed that we are not just competing against our European neighbours, GCC countries are also fully engaged.
Geopolitics is never far from the surface.

The ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, Vientiane, Friday 11 October