South-east Asia and UK partnership goes from strength to strength

Minister Will Quince's speech at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) science, technology and global health reception on deepening the UK's relationship with ASEAN member states.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, Your Excellencies, our friends from south-east Asia.

I’d like to let you all in on a little secret: being the minister responsible for global health is one of my favourite parts of the job.

Partially because I’m asked to attend receptions in beautiful rooms like these, which, I must confess, are slightly nicer than what I’m used to!

But also because it’s a real privilege to meet with our partners from across the globe.

And today, I’m delighted to welcome the Secretary General of ASEAN on his first visit to the UK.

Your Excellency, your visit comes at a vital time. We stand at the dawn of a new partnership between ASEAN and the UK.

In 2021, the UK became ASEAN’s first new dialogue partner in a quarter of a century. And, since then, our relationship has continued to grow in confidence and in strength, because we share a vision of a free, open and stable Indo-Pacific region, governed by the rule of law.

And the UK wants to play the fullest possible role in advancing that vision, drawing on the best of British expertise in finance, regulation and healthcare. That’s why we applied to join the ASEAN Regional Forum.

And it’s why we’re committed to working with ASEAN to meet the challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to global health, and harnessing AI’s potential.

Your Excellency, I hope you’ve witnessed the UK’s commitment to our co-operation throughout your visit. I know you have met with our Deputy Prime Minister, you have visited Oxford University and, tomorrow, you will open the London Stock Exchange.

As I can see in the room tonight, our leading scientific minds and industry partners are committed to finding solutions.