On Thursday 16 January, the UK and Malaysia held the inaugural ministerial-led Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting. The Joint Statement following the meeting between The UK Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander MP, and Malaysian Minister for Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Zafrul Aziz can be read here.

Ian Gibbons, Chief Executive Officer of the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), recently returned from a trip to Singapore encouraged by positive insights on the region's economic landscape. In a LinkedIn post, Ian highlighted the talent and dynamism of Singapore and the broader ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region and emphasised UKABC's engagement with key organisations including The ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) to drive economic growth and investment opportunities.