| Azlan Othman |
FOREIGN and Commonwealth Office Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field began a six-country visit to Southeast Asia yesterday, during which he will spend time in Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday.
Field will deliver a keynote speech on the United Kingdom (UK)’s ‘All of Asia’ policy at Jakarta’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies and lead the UK delegation for the second biannual Laos-UK political dialogue.
He will also visit the Halo Trust Cambodia Headquarters to meet demining teams, who with UK funding have released over 70 square kilometres of land over the last three years.
The minister will hold bilateral meetings with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano of the Philippines, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, and meet members of the civil society and the business and economic communities.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Field said, “I am hugely excited by the opportunities this visit presents.
“I look forward to continuing the ongoing conversation around our post-Brexit relationship with ASEAN and its members, and deepening the UK’s ties with one of the world’s most dynamic and vibrant regions.”
