ASEAN-UK joint ministerial statement: enhancing connectivity for a prosperous and sustainable future
The UK and ASEAN member states gave a joint statement at the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with the UK in Vientiane, Laos, on 26 July 2024.
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During the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Laos, ASEAN and the UK announced their shared determination to forge greater connections to boost growth in our economies, promote trade and investment partnerships, and tackle global challenges including the climate crisis.
Home to around 680 million people, ASEAN is set to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030. Its fast-growing, innovative and dynamic economies make it an engine room of global growth and an essential partner for the UK in delivering investment, jobs and boosting the green economy.
The visit builds on our joint ASEAN-UK Plan of Action and complements the UK’s accession to the CPTPP trade deal, which includes four ASEAN member states.
During the visit, the Foreign Secretary met ASEAN Foreign Ministers to celebrate progress of the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership and Plan of Action. In his remarks the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to building connections with ASEAN to grow our economies together and promote regional stability. He announced a new £25 million ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership: a five-year programme to improve capacity for the prevention, detection, and response to health threats across ASEAN, contributing to improved regional and global health security.
The Foreign Secretary also agreed the first-ever joint statement between ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the UK. This confirmed a suite of new initiatives focussed on connecting our peoples and economies for mutual benefit, including:
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upcoming ASEAN-UK Green Transition Fund, worth up to £40 million over five years, to reduce emissions, generate green economic growth and improve the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people in Southeast Asia. Supporting Southeast Asia’s climate and clean energy transition will also promote opportunities for collaboration between UK and ASEAN business as our green economies grow together
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UK contribution to Asian Development Bank’s technical support package for the ASEAN Power Grid – a key cross-border initiative in support of ASEAN integration and the development of modern clean energy grids across ASEAN
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new ASEAN-UK Economic Integration Programme, launched earlier this year, with a suite of initiatives designed to promote economic growth including through trade digitisation – in support of ASEAN plans for a Digital Economy Framework Agreement
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new ASEAN-UK Cybersecurity Capacity Building Programme and UK-Southeast Asia Women in Cyber Fellowships as a contribution to building cyber resilience and strengthening the role of women in cyber professions
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an intensification of cooperation across higher education, arts and culture by launching a new Chevening ASEAN Scholarship programme. This builds on the existing ASEAN-UK scholarship programme for Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and on efforts to facilitate skills mobility in ASEAN and reduce gender gaps in key sectors through the ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls’ Education (SAGE) programme.
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ongoing discussions, led by the Department for Transport for the UK, to explore a potential ASEAN-UK Multilateral Air Services Agreement which could boost people-to-people links and open up commercial opportunities between two of the world’s major aviation markets
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continued work of British International Investment (BII) which has already agreed initial deals as part of an ambition to invest up to £500 million in climate-friendly infrastructure in Southeast Asia
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UK plans for a new Indo-Pacific Connectivity Programme to support the ASEAN connectivity agenda and promote sustainable infrastructure development and resilience
Read more about the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Laos.
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Published 26 July 2024Last updated 26 July 2024 + show all updates
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Updating details section.
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First published.