KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — The United Kingdom’s Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, will visit Malaysia from September 5 to September 8 for engagements on climate cooperation, regional security, and trade.
A statement by the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday said she will meet Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution and Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong to deepen bilateral cooperation during the visit.
With Malaysia ranked the 12th most biodiverse country in the world, Trevelyan’s programme will also focus on climate action and nature protection.
“The minister is scheduled to deliver a speech on businesses and climate action at the Climate Governance Summit SME Workshop event in Kuala Lumpur on September 6.
“She will also visit Sarawak to meet the local community indigenous to Borneo, tour a refuelling site for hydrogen-powered buses, and see biodiversity conservation in action with a visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre,” it said.
Trevelyan will travel to Laos before arriving in Malaysia. Her visit to the region follows the Foreign Secretary’s visit to the Philippines and China this week.
“We must work together with our partners in the Indo-Pacific to address the shared global challenge of climate change.
“Through our partnerships in Laos and Malaysia, the UK is supporting sustainable growth and accelerating the clean energy transition to secure a resilient and prosperous future,” she said, according to the statement.
Trevelyan added that as Laos prepares to take up the Asean Chairmanship in 2024, the UK will continue working with regional partners to advance prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific as an Asean Dialogue Partner.
The UK’s Integrated Review Refresh, published in March 2023, made increased engagement with the Indo-Pacific a long-term pillar of the UK’s foreign policy.
With over half of global growth projected to come from the Indo-Pacific by 2050, the region is vital to the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the UK’s economy.
The UK officially signed its Accession Protocol to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trading bloc (CPTPP) in July this year.
The partnership positions the UK at the heart of the fast-growing and dynamic economies across the Indo-Pacific.
— Bernama
