Joint Statement of the fifth AEM-UK Consultation
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-26)

Fifth ASEAN Economic Ministers Consultation co-chaired by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Liz Lloyd and Malaysian Minister of Investment.

The fifth ASEAN Economic Ministers Consultation was held on 25 September 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Consultation was co-chaired by H.E. Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia, and Minister Liz Lloyd, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Digital Economy), Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

The Meeting also welcomed the participation of H.E. Filipus Nino Pereira, Minister of Commerce and Industry, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as an observer. The Meeting noted that total trade in goods and services between the UK and ASEAN was £53.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2025, an increase of 9.6% or £4.7 billion in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024. Based on ASEAN’s preliminary statistics, the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow from the UK to ASEAN was recorded at USD 18.7 billion in 2024. This placed the UK as ASEAN’s fourth largest source of FDI last year.

The Meeting exchanged views on regional and global economic challenges including the current global trade tensions, which have caused uncertainty, impacted supply chain resiliency, and brought significant challenges to businesses, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as to global trade dynamics. Amidst this backdrop, the Meeting reaffirmed its commitment to upholding a predictable, transparent, free, fair, inclusive, sustainable, and rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core.

The Meeting underscored the importance of fostering closer economic cooperation between ASEAN and the UK to mitigate the impact of emerging geoeconomic challenges. The Meeting welcomed the valuable support from the UK to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) under the ASEAN-UK Work Plan to implement the Joint Ministerial Declaration on Future Economic Cooperation (Work Plan), specifically in the areas of high-level policy dialogue, supply chain resilience, regulatory excellence, digital innovation, MSMEs development, public-private partnership, financial services, sustainable growth, infrastructure, skills and education, and women’s economic empowerment. The Meeting noted that a total of 95 activities, across 11 priority areas involving 22 ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, were carried out since 2024, with an additional 80 activities planned for the succeeding years.

The Meeting looked forward to the review and updating of the Work Plan in 2026 with a view to align it with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the UK’s Trade Adopted at the 5th AEM-UK Consultation, 25 September 2025 and Industrial Strategies, and the economic cooperation pillar of the next ASEAN-UK Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership. The Meeting noted that the UK’s ASEAN Project on Impact Realisation Assessment, ASPIRE, delivered a key analysis of the impact of the AEC Blueprint 2025, with recommendations on strategic imperatives and institutional mechanisms to drive further growth and impact the AEC Strategic Plan 2026 – 2030.

The Meeting noted the significant progress in the implementation of the ASEAN-UK Economic Integration Programme (EIP) to support the key priority areas in the Work Plan. The Meeting noted that all three pillars of the EIP are now operational. Under the Regulatory Reform pillar, the Meeting noted the UK’s support for strengthening ASEAN’s regulatory frameworks as well as for continued cooperation on intellectual property, standards, and competition policy.

The Meeting also noted efforts to promote financial inclusion and digital financial literacy under the Financial Services pillar, and welcomed the commencement of the Open Trade pillar, which aims to address non-tariff barriers and promote inclusive digital trade across ASEAN and Timor-Leste. The Meeting looked forward to the timely and effective implementation of the EIP, laying a strong foundation for continued collaboration and deepening the ASEAN-UK economic relationship.

The Meeting noted the UK’s continued support for Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship, which emphasises inclusivity and sustainability. The Meeting acknowledged the participation of the UK’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel in the Workshop to Enhance Semiconductor Industry in ASEAN – contributing to the refinement of the ASEAN Framework for Integrated Semiconductor Supply-Chain (AFISS), one of the Priority Economic Deliverables for this year. The Meeting noted several other areas of economic cooperation between ASEAN and the UK on a broad range of areas.

These initiatives include: (a) the ASEAN Resilient Value Chains II (ARVC II) project that provides support to the ASEAN Geoeconomic Taskforce to bolster resilience to emerging geo-economic challenges and the ASEAN-UK Analytical Dialogue; (b) the ASEAN Industrial Project Based Initiative (AIPBI) that has been adopted by ASEAN Leaders earlier this year; (c) the ASEAN Green Investment Catalyst initiative launched in December 2024 to mobilise sustainable finance and unlock green investment opportunities in the region; (d) mapping and analysing regional standards for e-commerce and capacity building for digital standards development; (e) support for the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA); (f) skills and education initiatives such as the ASEAN Sustainable Leadership in Infrastructure Programme (ASLIP), ASEAN Chevening and ASEAN Women in STEM scholarships, the Research and Innovation for Development in ASEAN (RIDA) initiative to strengthen academia-industry collaboration, and efforts to support research commercialisation through ASEAN i-Teams; and (g) support for MSMEs and women entrepreneurs, including the rollout of SheTrades Outlook in pilot ASEAN countries and institutional capacity building for the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN).

The Meeting acknowledged the pivotal and indispensable role of the WTO at the core of the rules-based multilateral trading system, which provides a predictable, transparent, non-discriminatory and open global trading system. In this regard, the Meeting expressed its readiness to collaborate constructively to advance WTO reform adopted at the 5th AEM-UK Consultation, 25 September 2025 in delivering meaningful outcomes to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness in addressing current and emerging global trade challenges as well as to respond to the needs of its diverse Membership. The Meeting also expressed its determination to work closely together in the lead up to the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14), to be held in Cameroon in March 2026.

The Meeting noted the recommendations presented by the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), which highlighted key areas for advancing ASEAN’s strategic priorities. These included (1) accelerating the implementation of the DEFA to advance seamless digital trade and SME participation; (2) strengthening ASEAN’s clean energy transition; and (3) adopting globally recognised sustainability reporting standards. The Meeting also acknowledged the UKABC effort to strengthen business engagement with ASEAN, including through the UK-ASEAN Business Forum held in London in March 2025, which gathered senior industry and government leaders.

The Meeting noted Timor-Leste’s continued commitment to the Roadmap for Timor-Leste’s Full Membership in ASEAN and looked forward to the full and effective fulfilment of all the criteria outlined in the Roadmap. The Meeting reaffirmed its support for Timor-Leste’s integration efforts into ASEAN and expressed readiness to provide continued capacity building and technical assistance to facilitate its effective inclusion into the regional economy.