London:
The UK has agreed to a new partnership with ASEAN which the British government mentioned on Thursday will lead to closer cooperation with the strategically essential Indo-Pacific area on a variety of difficulties such as trade, investment, climate alter and science and technologies.
The UK’s Dialogue Partner status, which is the 1st such pact Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has agreed to in 25 years, puts the nation at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, it mentioned.
The 10 member nations of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
The partnership will lead to closer cooperation in between the UK and the area on a variety of difficulties such as trade, investment, climate alter, atmosphere, science and technologies, and education.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab joined a virtual ceremony with ASEAN Foreign Ministers exactly where they welcomed the UK as an ASEAN “Dialogue Partner”.
“I am delighted that the UK has, today, formally become a Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc – the first new country in 25 years,” mentioned Raab.
“This is a landmark moment in the UK’s tilt towards the Indo Pacific. Our closer ties with ASEAN will help create green jobs, reinforce our security cooperation, promote tech and science partnerships, and safeguard key pillars of international law like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he mentioned.
India is a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of the ASEAN financial bloc and the UK submitted its application to turn into a Dialogue Partner in June 2020.
Since then, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) mentioned Raab has attended two UK-ASEAN Ministerial Meetings and hosted the ASEAN Chair at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting in May.
The FCDO described ASEAN as an influential group of 10 member nations in the Indo-Pacific and with its new status, the UK will formalise its relations with the group – like via attending annual Foreign and Economic Ministers meetings along with other ministerial engagements.
It mentioned that the UK will work with ASEAN and its members on important shared challenges such as maritime safety and transnational crime, increase our economies via trade, and strengthen our cooperation on difficulties such COVID-19 and climate alter.
The new agreement will also support the UK to deepen financial hyperlinks with ASEAN, which has a combined GDP of USD 3.2 trillion.
Total trade in between the UK and ASEAN was 32.3 billion pounds in the 4 quarters to the finish of Q1 2021 with enormous possible to increase this trade, developing jobs at home.
“This is great news and shows Global Britain in action, forging stronger relationships around the world as an independent trading nation,” mentioned UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss.
In June, the UK formally launched accession negotiations with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) nations.
The CPTPP is one of the biggest free of charge trade places in the world, accounting for 13 per cent of worldwide GDP in 2019. Four ASEAN states – Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei – are members of the CPTPP.
“Along with CPTPP accession and deals with countries like Singapore and Vietnam, this will help unlock opportunities for British businesses in a high-growth region of more than 650 million people, allowing them to expand and create jobs across the UK,” mentioned Truss.
Raab has visited Southeast Asia 5 occasions considering that becoming Foreign Secretary, demonstrating the expanding value of the Indo-Pacific, as set out in the Integrated Review.
The FCDO mentioned the ASEAN announcement comes at a time of expanding UK defence and safety cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, as the UK’s Carrier Strike Group, led by Queen Elizabeth, is in the area and has completed a series of engagements, like with the Indian Navy.
The ties in between India and ASEAN have been on an upswing in the last handful of years with focus becoming on ramping up cooperation in the places of trade and investment as properly as safety and defence.
The ASEAN area along with India collectively comprises a combined population of 1.85 billion individuals, which is one fourth of the worldwide population and their combined GDP has been estimated at more than USD 3.8 trillion.
(This story has not been edited by TheSpuzz employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)