Jakarta: UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, on Wednesday paid a courtesy call to the Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
"The meeting exchanged views on the overall ASEAN-UK economic relations in which two-way trade relationship reached over US$ 31.8 billion in 2020," the ASEAN Secretariat said in a press release on Wednesday.
Both sides discussed areas of mutual interest such as the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF), sustainability and climate change, infrastructure development, digital innovation, and ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific.
The meeting looked forward to the implementation of the ASEAN-UK Joint Ministerial Declaration on Future Economic Cooperation as agreed during the first ASEAN Economic Ministers – UK Consultation last year.
Moreover, both sides exchanged views on the prospect of a joint study on how to further advance ASEAN-UK economic cooperation including through a possible free trade agreement/comprehensive economic partnership.
Secretary-General Dato Lim expressed appreciation to UK’s consistent efforts and contribution in supporting the realisation of ASEAN Community.
He also underscored the importance of elevating ASEAN-UK economic partnership and improving trade and investment links between both sides.
He invited the UK to take advantage of the trade and investment facilitation presented by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, by expanding UK investment in ASEAN Member States.
Further, Dato Lim encouraged a closer alignment between UK and ASEAN’s priorities by exploring the possibility of a suite of cooperation programs in areas of sustainability, infrastructure, and digital transformation, which are important areas for post-pandemic recovery effort, as well as longer term structural transformation.
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