During an open-ended Troika virtual meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, held virtually on September 30th, the UK committed to contribute GBP 4.8 million (USD 6.15 million) towards strengthening national health systems to prevent, detect and control the threat of COVID-19.

ASEAN Member States welcomed the UK’s confirmation to contribute GBP 1 million to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund to support response to the health impacts of COVID-19; GBP 0.5 million for strategic support to the ASEAN Secretariat to provide technical support on policies to mitigate the economic impacts; GBP 0.2 million to continue cooperation with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre); and GBP 4.8 million towards strengthening national health systems to prevent, detect and control the threat of COVID-19, working with governments and institutions in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV).

The UK was the region’s 13th largest trading partner and 6th largest FDI source in 2019.