BRITISH Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Mark Field highlighted the depth of the longstanding and close relationship between the United Kingdom (UK) and Brunei Darussalam.
Delivering a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT) yesterday, Field said that the UK’s bilateral relationship with Brunei is in excellent shape and he is excited to learn about new opportunities to develop it further.
The minister also shared his vision for the European Union (EU) exit and opportunities for trade and investment and as well as the UK’s relationship with ASEAN.
Permanent Secretary (Political) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Hajah Siti Norishan binti Haji Abdul Ghafor introduced Field to the audience. After his speech, the British minister had the opportunity to engage in a lively discussion with policymakers and officials from the MoFAT.
Field is currently on a two-week, six-country tour of Southeast Asia highlighting the UK’s commitment to the increasingly important region. He underscored the importance of an ‘All of Asia’ policy, through which the UK engages actively with all countries in the region, regardless of size, to promote regional security, build prosperity and strengthen the values that underpin people-to-people links.
Since Field’s appointment as Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, he has travelled all across the region, visiting some 20 countries. By the end of his current tour, Field will have visited all 10 ASEAN member states in just over a year, demonstrating emphatically that the UK’s ‘All of Asia’ policy is broad, ambitious and focussed on the future.
During the speech, Field elaborated on the UK’s exit from the EU and the new partnership which is being negotiated. Once outside the EU, he said that the UK will be able to develop closer and more tailored relationships with countries around the world.
The minister emphasised the importance of the UK’s existing close relationship with ASEAN, and the country’s intention to develop that relationship further as it leaves the EU. He said that there is real scope to do more with ASEAN, including in Brunei, on fields such as Islamic banking and finance, financial technology, and capital market development.
Highlighting new opportunities for bilateral co-operation with the UK, including on free trade agreements, he said, “The UK is a champion of free trade as a proven means of lifting millions of people out of poverty, particularly in Asia.”
The minister said that the UK would continue to challenge protectionism which it saw as a real danger to global growth. He praised the ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership’ that Brunei and 10 other nations signed earlier this year. After it leaves the EU, the UK will be free to consider joining such free trade agreements, he added.
Mark Field was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on June 13, 2017. He was first elected as the Conservative MP for the Cities of London and Westminster in 2001.
As an MP representing the City of London, Mark Field is the ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services sector. Not only is he responsible in nurturing the relationships with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, but also for the international economic diplomacy including the financial services sector.