The United Kingdom has reaffirmed its strong commitment to supporting Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship through the visit of the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and ASEAN Richard Graham MP.
Graham is visiting Indonesia from June 5–7, 2023, highlighting the UK’s strong support for Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship, the British Embassy in Jakarta said in a press statement on Monday.
During his visit, Graham will meet Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, to discuss the UK’s support for a number of economic deliverables of Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship.
He will also meet ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn to enquire how the UK can further support ASEAN in its economic integration journey post 2025.
His eleventh visit as the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and ASEAN underlines the UK’s commitment to both bilateral and multinational partnership in the region, focused on economic growth and development, Graham said.
Graham is also scheduled to meet Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan; National Development Planning Minister/head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa; and head of the New Capital City Authority (OIKN) to discuss potential commercial collaboration in Nusantara.
The visit follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral investment promotion with the Indonesian Investment Minister last year, which encourages two-way investment between the two countries.
Furthermore, Graham will also visit Surabaya and meet several interlocutors, including the Governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and the Mayor of Surabaya, Eri Cahyadi, to discuss trade and investment opportunities in sustainable transport, defense, green energy, and education.
The UK is of the view that Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship year holds tremendous significance for the Southeast Asian region and beyond, and it is keen on playing an active role in supporting Indonesia’s efforts to promote regional prosperity and resilience.
As a key partner of ASEAN, the UK is committed to fostering even closer ties with Indonesia, recognizing its pivotal role in shaping the region’s economic landscape, the British Embassy said in its statement.
As ASEAN chair this year, Indonesia plays a critical role in driving the bloc’s many ambitions. He looks forward to seeing key Indonesian interlocutors and the ASEAN secretary general to discuss ways to deepen our relationship, Graham said.
Meanwhile, the UK Ambassador to ASEAN, Sarah Tiffin, said that 2023 is the second year of the UK’s Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN, and marks one year of the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action and driving forward the delivery of the plans it contains.
The UK supports Indonesia’s ambitious agenda as ASEAN chair, including to progress the region’s economic integration efforts, Ambassador Tiffin said, adding that rhe UK is proud to support this, including through the delivery of the priority economic deliverables (PED) Indonesia has identified.
The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys are a network of UK parliamentarians who are appointed to foster trade and investment opportunities in their respective markets.
Source: antaranews.com