Illustrative image (Photo: aseanbriefing) Jakarta (VNA) – Senior officials of ASEAN and the UK reaffirmedcommitment to further strengthen ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership and deepen mutuallybeneficial cooperation at the second ASEAN-UK Senior Officials’ Meeting(AUKSOM) in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on June 8.
The meeting wasco-chaired by Johariah Wahab, PermanentSecretary and SOM Leader of Brunei and Jenny Bates, Director-General,Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UKand SOM Leader of the UK.
Bothsides exchanged views on the developments in ASEAN and the UK and reviewed bilateralcooperation across the three pillars of the ASEAN Community. They took note ofthe progress made in the implementation of the ASEAN-United Kingdom Plan ofAction (POA) for the 2022-2026 period and looked forward to further enhance thepartnership in areas of mutual interest.
They encouraged bilateral cooperation in the four areasidentified under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific that is inclusive,mutually beneficial, and directed towards the stability and prosperity of theIndo-Pacific region.
ASEANwelcomed the first ASEAN-UK project to be implemented under the POA entitled “Promoting Women andGirls’ Education in ASEAN” whichwas announced at the 19th Education World Forum in London in May2023. The UK also introduced its flagship multi-year development programmes tosupport the implementation of the POA on girls’ education; economicintegration; women, peace and security; health systems; and climate transition.
Thetwo sides further discussed ways to deepen the ASEAN-UK collaboration inareas such as maritime cooperation,transnational crime, cyber security, trade and investment; micro, small and medium Enterprises (MSMEs);digital transformation and inclusivity, sustainable development anddecarbonisation, environment and climate change, people-to-people contacts,education, health, connectivity, narrowing development gap, smart cities andinfrastructure.
Their views on regional and international issues of shared concernfocused on regional economic developments and multilateraltrading system, the ⛦importance of maintaining ASEAN’s Centrality in theevolving regional architecture, the situation in the East Sea, dev🙈elopments inMyanmar, and the situation in Ukraine./.
