UKABC was delighted to host HMTC Martin Kent and David Johnstone from the Department for Business and Trade for a tour de force covering updates on ASEAN and the wider Asia Pacific region from both a bilateral and wider regional political and commercial perspective.

ASEAN is one of the fastest-growing parts of the global economy, with 700 million people, and many nations with strong and resilient economies. 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…

UKABC’s Chair, Lord Vaizey of Didcot, and Chief Executive, Ian Gibbons led the UK’s business delegation and UK business programme during the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) and Outlook on the Indo-Pacific Forum in Vientiane, Laos from the 8-11 October.

In Vientiane, the Foreign Secretary will position the UK as a key partner to the Indo-Pacific region by forging closer collaboration on areas including trade, climate change and health security. Marking his first official visit to the region, the summit will highlight this government’s plan to strengthen Britain’s influence with the global powers of tomorrow.

The UK’s Senior Economic Official to ASEAN, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Asia Pacific Martin Kent, visited Vientiane, Laos to demonstrate the UK’s continued and deepening economic commitment to ASEAN.

The UK Government is interested in receiving views from businesses, individuals and other interested stakeholders on which areas of the current CPTPP agreement the government should seek to keep the same, change or improve through the CPTPP general review.