April 8, 2021
Aziz Idris
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is visiting Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam this week to forge closer trade and security ties with the two countries while tackling key global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the coup in Myanmar.
It is Raab’s fourth visit to Southeast Asia as Foreign Secretary – and first since the publication of the Integrated Review – setting out the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific. Later this year, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Carrier Strike Group led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth, will make its maiden visit to the region.
In Jakarta, the Raab met Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to discuss the growing UK-Indonesia trade partnership now worth USD2.7 billion a year. He also met Health Minister Budi Sadikin where they discussed the importance of international collaboration in pandemic preparedness. In his final meeting in Jakarta, Raab spoke to ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi as the UK looks to progress closer ties with the regional bloc.