British PM David Cameron kick starts South East Asia tour with Indonesia: talks trade and ISIS threat

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s four-day trade mission to South-East Asia has started with Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy. Intended to spur lucrative business deals and forge political alliances to fight extremism posed by forces like Islamic state, Mr Cameron’s tour will cover Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. The prime minister’s entourage has lined up 31 British business leaders.

The PM offered a big loan of 1 billion pounds (AUD 2.8 billion) to Indonesia for fast tracking many of its ongoing projects. This will help Indonesia in expanding its exports to Britain by 200 million pounds (AUD426 million), reports ABC News. The PM noted that are many opportunities to work together, particularly in areas like insurance, infrastructure and internet services. Expectation is that the British PM’s South-East Asia trip will have deals worth more than 750 million pounds or AUD 1.5 billion. “There's a great opportunity for a free trade agreement but we shouldn't wait for that," Cameron told media before he met the Indonesian President.

In his meeting with president Joko Widodo, Mr Cameron discussed Britain’s focus on expanding links with the rest of the world, beyond Europe. Another point was the measures to counter the "shared enemy" of Islamic State and its extremism.

ISIS Threat

Speaking at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Mr Cameron said ISIS posed an "evil threat" and the U.K. would "seek to learn" from Indonesia its approach in countering extremism through exchange programs between religious and community leaders to foster a better understanding of how it works. Britain also offered to train 50 police officers from Indonesia in counter-terrorism tactics. The visiting PM also promised Indonesia, the support for increasing airport security at Bali and Jakarta, reports BBC.

FTA Plan

During the trip, Mr Cameron will also explore the scope of a free trade deal between the European Union and South East Asian trading bloc, ASEAN. The U.K. hopes to draw £3 billion (AUD 6.4 billion) a year to the British economy from a trade deal. Mr Cameron has already stated that he has plans to meet the group's secretary general, Le Luong Minh. Though the EU remains Britain's biggest trading partner, Mr Cameron is keen to diversify trade beyond Europe, where he has frustration with the former's dipping competitiveness and overdose of regulations. It is expected that by 2030, South East Asia will become world’s fourth-largest single market.

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