Mr. Martin Kent and Ambassador Sarah Tiffin discuss how the UK and ASEAN are forging greater economic and people-to-people ties.
ASEAN is an engine room of global growth. It is home to around 680 million people and fast-growing, innovative economies. The region is collectively equivalent to the fifth-largest economy in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook for October.
Connectivity is key to driving further growth across this diverse and dynamic region. There is a real benefit in strengthening connections between the UK and ASEAN economies—the UK is the world’s sixth largest economy, and growth is the key mission of the UK Government.
The ASEAN-UK trade relationship was worth 47 billion British pounds last year, and we want to see that figure grow even higher. We are connecting our people and economies to build long-term sustainable partnerships that drive innovative solutions to global challenges.
Connecting our economies
The 25-million British pound ASEAN-UK Economic Integration Programme (EIP), launched in April 2024, aims to boost economic growth across the region by supporting open trade and financial integration, and enhancing the regulatory environment within ASEAN Member States and the broader ASEAN Economic Community.
The EIP focuses on three pillars. First, it will increase opportunities for ASEAN’s open trade, including with the UK. In particular, ASEAN has a vision to double the size of its digital economy to 2 trillion US dollars by 2030 through the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement and the UK is helping to realise this vision.
The UK is supporting ASEAN on enhancing trade digitalisation across the region by providing a series of capacity building sessions through the EIP. The UK’s private sector is also playing an active role in this space. The UK Government, working with the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, has supported three companies in Southeast Asia with paperless trade pilots. One of the pilots helped Thai Supermarket C digitalise nearly 90 per cent of its paper processes and track shipments through a live digital system.
Second, the EIP will improve access to financial services across ASEAN by sharing the UK’s expertise in this vital area, including harnessing the knowledge of our vibrant private sector. The UK already exports 1.8 billion British pounds worth of financial services to ASEAN, and this is only set to grow.
Third, it will support the improvement of regulation and use of international standards across ASEAN. The UK is a strong supporter of good regulatory practices and is working with ASEAN to support evidence-based and effective regulation.
The UK is providing ASEAN with technical assistance in a wide range of areas—including product risk and safety, e-commerce standards and intellectual property protection and commercialisation.
Women are at the heart of the UK’s approach to economic development. We are partnering with SheTrades International Trade Center to support ASEAN’s women’s economic empowerment agenda. The new ASEAN-UK Cybersecurity Capacity Building Programme and UK-Southeast Asia Women in Cyber Fellowships will build the region’s cyber resilience and strengthen the role of women in cyber professions.
Addressing the climate crisis together
Climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions, and partnerships are key.
The green transition is central to the UK Government’s priorities. Our Industrial Strategy will focus on clean energy as a key growth-driving sector. We were the first major economy to put into law our commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and are taking concrete steps towards this goal including closing the UK’s last coal power plant in September.
With an energy sector still dominated by fossil fuels, Southeast Asia is one of the most important regions in the global energy transition. Unlocking the green economy in Southeast Asia could be worth 300 billion US dollars annually by 2030, equivalent to 5 per cent of the region’s GDP.
Scaling up climate finance and investment will be critical—not only to ensure a just energy transition but also to support countries in adapting to climate change, building resilience, and tackling biodiversity loss. Securing ambitious climate finance commitments was a key priority at this month’s UN Climate Conference (COP29), at which we held a joint ASEAN-UK event on climate change.
The UK is scaling up its green investment partnerships across the region. This includes the launch of a new ASEAN-UK Green Transition Fund in July this year, which will aim to reduce emissions, generate green economic growth and improve the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people in Southeast Asia. We are contributing to the 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 the region.
The UK is also supporting policymakers across the region on planning, procuring and building sustainable infrastructure through the ASEAN-UK Sustainable Leadership in Infrastructure Programme. Last year’s course saw graduates from each ASEAN Member State receive training from a wide range of public and private sector experts. The programme is now entering its third year and applications will soon open for 2025.
Building people-to-people links
The UK is deepening its people-to-people ties with Southeast Asia. The new Chevening ASEAN Scholarship Programme intensifies our cooperation across higher education, arts and culture.
The ASEAN-UK Scholarship Programme for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics has enabled 10 students to pursue their studies at Imperial College London and Warwick University this year.
There are already over 40,000 ASEAN students studying in the UK and over 125,000 students in Southeast Asia studying for British higher education qualifications. We are proud to be sharing the best of UK education and building up the region’s brightest minds of the future.
Other exciting UK programmes are doing great work across the region. The UK is also working to reduce gender barriers to skills for employment through the ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls’ Education Programme. The ASEAN-UK Advancing Creative Economy Programme fosters meaningful connections by supporting creative talent and industries across the region. It aims to bridge cultures, enable collaboration, and drive inclusive growth.
It is clear there is great benefit in deepening ASEAN-UK connectivity. The UK was delighted to support the Lao PDR’s chairmanship this year under the theme of enhancing connectivity and to agree to our first joint UK-ASEAN Ministerial statement on connectivity. We look forward to furthering this work under Malaysia’s Chair next year.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of ASEAN.
