The annual publication on ASEAN 2019-2020 by Allurentis is available below. We are delighted our Chair, Margaret Manning OBE, contributed a foreword highlighting the growing UK-ASEAN relationship.

Foreword by Margaret Manning OBE, Chair, UKABC

As the UK looks to partner regions around the world, ASEAN stands out and continues to offer tremendous trade and investment opportunities for UK companies as one of the fastest-growing parts of the world. The UKABC is the premier UK organisation that sits at the heart of the UK-ASEAN Business Network. We link the UK and ASEAN government and business from Birmingham to Bangkok and drive up economic prosperity.

UK-ASEAN trade is now worth nearly £37 billion. The ASEAN export market is worth more to the UK than Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and could soon overtake China. As a region, its economy is bigger than India’s and its population of 639 million is the third-largest consumer market after China and India.

‘Advancing Partnership for Sustainability’ is the theme of Thailand’s Chairmanship of ASEAN and its focus on technology and the green economy is a perfect match for the UK’s world-leading expertise in these areas. The knowledge-hungry citizens of Southeast Asia are looking to learn and benefit from the UK’s research and development and how they can apply our cutting edge technology to their home markets.

ASEAN’s future is one of long-term growth and the UK wants to contribute to and participate in that growth. Join us at the UK-ASEAN Business Council as we work to raise awareness of the opportunities in this vibrant community, providing insight, intelligence and practical assistance to UK businesses large and small at each stage of their ASEAN journey. Find out more about ASEAN and the work we do by visiting www.ukabc.org.uk.