LIZ TRUSS IN SEARCH OF EASTERN PROMISE...
region”. She said she was determined to “zero in on the opportunities of the future”, with stronger ties in the East delivering jobs and opportunity back home.
After a difficult week for the Government, with Tory sleaze back in the picture at Parliament, the Foreign Secretary has sought to get a grip on the agenda and move it on to shaping Global Britain.
Her trip comes as talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol are set to resume in London, although hopes of an EU compromise are dwindling.
And with the EU still making threats of a trade war over Northern Ireland and fishing rights, the Foreign Secretary has made it clear that Britain’s future prosperity lies beyond Europe.
She believes the jobs of the future, in technology, artificial intelligence and other areas, can be best found by working with the growing Asian economies.
Ms Truss will arrive in the Indonesian capital Kuala Lumpur tonight. The countries on her tour are all part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Sources close to the Foreign Secretary said the fact she was making the trip East so early on in her tenure revealed the importance she placed on the region.
One said: “This is all about seizing the opportunities of Brexit and looking towards the fastestgrowing parts of the world and the huge Asian economies of the future. Liz will be making the case for stronger economic and tech ties with these countries, which will help secure Britain’s place in the world for decades to come.”
Ms Truss points out that by 2050 Indonesia, not Germany, will be the fourth biggest economy in the world. She also underlined that the freedom allowed by Brexit has enabled the UK to revitalise its relationships with the world’s rapidly expanding economies.
Ms Truss noted: “For too long, we have allowed our relationship with such nations to be underpowered – but now is the time for it to be turbocharged.
“We are using our newfound freedom to position ourselves alongside the next generation of economic superpowers and tech leaders.”
The Foreign Secretary plans to build on her legacy from her last job in Government, International Trade Secretary.and she has made no secret she wants to bring democratic economies around the world together as a bulwark for the growing power of China.
As International Trade Secretary, Ms Truss laid the groundwork for the UK to start this new ecoindo-pacific nomic alliance by bidding to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership.
The CPTPP is an 11-nation free trade group – without free movement of people – made up of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.
She said: “Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, has a booming middle class craving the best of British, from our worldclass food and drink, like Welsh lamb, to world-renowned cars, like Aston Martin, and best-selling computer games.
“With 60 per cent of the world’s high-income earners expected by the end of this decade to be living in Asia, we need to be selling more goods and services into these markets.
“That is why our work to join Malaysia and 10 other vibrant economies in the Trans-pacific Partnership is vital.”
Ms Truss has also been trying to persuade the US to rejoin the CPTPP after Donald Trump cancelled its membership.
The ruling Democrats are understood to be reluctant to rejoin because of the influence of American trade unions in the rust belt states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, which are swing states in the
US elections. Sources said when she recently visited the White House, with Boris Johnson, she told President Joe Biden “the US needs to step up” and join democratic countries in economic partnerships.
The Foreign Secretary, who consistently comes top in popularity polls in the Conservative Party and who is the favourite among MPS to be the next Prime Minister – made it clear that UK defence strategy and economic activity must be linked.
“I want the UK to be the beating heart of a global network of liberty, which is why we are advancing our values, such as free enterprise, opportunity and democracy, from a position of strength,” she said.
“There is no finer symbol of our determination to do so than an F35 taking off from HMS Queen Elizabeth, as I saw for myself during its stop in Mumbai.
“This Carrier Strike
Group has been going from port to port, working and exercising alongside nations like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, in its mission to protect our sea routes, supply chains and fundamental freedoms.”
Marco Longhi, MP for Dudley North, said the mission “underlines what Brexit is all about”.
Mr Longhi, who is also a trade envoy to Brazil, said: “Liz Truss is great at going out and promoting UK Plc.
“It’s what we all need to do, whether we are ministers backbenchers, trade envoys or not.
“This is not just about creating more jobs in this country, but safer and more secure jobs for the future as well as more wealth for everyone through investment and partnerships.”
North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen added: “Leaving the EU has allowed us to have British trade and foreign policies again.”