We were delighted to lead a business delegation comprising from HSBC, Jardines, KPMG, MACE, Prudential and Crown Agents Bank to the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia earlier this month. The summit is the leading platform to engage with senior ASEAN government and business figures from across Southeast Asia. It was our first in-person visit for 3 years.  The delegation, led by our Chair The Rt Hon the Lord Vaizey of Didcot, also took part in the 2^nd ASEAN Economic Ministers–UK Consultation. Additionally, UKABC hosted lunch roundtables on Investing in ASEAN and separately on Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Joining us were The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, Minister of State for Trade Policy at the Department for International Trade, Natalie Black CBE, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner Asia Pac, Jon Lambe, British Ambassador to ASEAN as well as senior government officials.

The theme of the Summit, ‘Addressing Challenges Together’, highlighted the need for collaboration. Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia stressed the importance of sustained efforts to help ASEAN deepen economic integration and promote inclusive, competitive, resilient, sustainable and equitable recovery. Additionally, there were virtual keynote addresses by Prime Minister Sunak and other leading VIPs.

Lord Vaizey moderated the panel discussion on ‘A Greener and More Sustainable ASEAN’ with Greg Hands, Duncan Buchanan, Head of Global Policy at Prudential, Matthew Stevenson from the World Economic Forum and Tanah Sullivan from ASEAN’s largest tech start-up, GoTo.

I was delighted to chair our lunch roundtable on ‘Investing in ASEAN’ featuring a presentation by Richard Bolwijn (UNCTAD) on the ASEAN Investment Report 2022.

Our Women’s Economic Empowerment lunch roundtable with senior government and business figures from both the UK and Southeast Asia including Cambodia’s Minister for Women’s Affairs and the ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for Socio-Cultural Community, and Lord Vaizey, Greg Hands and Natalie Black focused on the UNDP’s report on Gender Diversity and Inclusion for a Fair Business Environment and heard views from women business leaders in the ASEAN Business Advisory Council on how to remove barriers for women in accessing the many business opportunities in ASEAN.

Our UKABC presentation to the ASEAN Economic Ministers saw Lord Vaizey outline UKABC’s focus over the year on digitalisation, sustainability, education, and energy transition.

Useful links

The Second AEM-UK Consultation – Joint Media Statement

Gender Diversity and Inclusion for a Fair Business Environment. UNDP

ASEAN Investment Report 2022. ASEAN