1. The Fifth ASEAN Economic Ministers – the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (AEM-UK) 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.
2. 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.

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