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IN PHOTO: South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (6th L) joins hands for a group photo with (L-R) Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein, Philippine's President Benigno Aquino, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao's Prime Minister Bouasone Buphavanh and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsawan at the start of the ASEAN-South Korea Summit on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi October 29, 2010 in Hanoi. REUTERS/Hoang Dinh Nam/Pool

British Prime Minister David Cameron will be visiting South East Asia to extend the country’s tradelinks and discuss measures of counter-terrorism. The tour will start in Indonesia, followed by Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.

It is believed that Mr. Cameron wants to expand businesses beyond Europe, which is its largest trading partner. The initiative to establish business ties with the east could “possibly” be the result of the conflicts, which has marred the U.K., EU relations in the recent past. He asserted that Britain must take the advantage of the rapid global growth which is expected to come from outside Europe over the next 20 years.

Mr. Cameron said he wants to invest in the South East Asian markets to expand the production of British goods and service. He issued a statement saying that Britain must go “to the ends of the earth” to sell its wares. Meanwhile, he confirmed that an investment of more than AU$1599 million will be made during his four-day-trip.

The BBC reported that as many as 31 British business delegates will be accompanying Mr. Cameron on his tour .

Meanwhile, media reports suggested that the British PM would also discuss the growing threats of Islamic State (IS) group across the globe. It has been reported that Secretary of State for Busines s Sajid Javid will lead a separate delegation to the region from the North of England.

Mr. Cameron is hoping to strike a free trade deal between South East Asian trading bloc, ASEAN and European Union, which will eventually boost British economy by providing an estimated $6.38 billion a year. The U.K. government is also set to grant AU$2.13 billion to develop infrastructure projects in Indonesia through its export guarantee scheme.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald , Mr. Cameron will be insisting on building “closer counter-terrorism” cooperation with ASEAN countries in meetings with the Indonesian President and Malaysian Prime Minister, as local support towards the IS group and other militant groups has been reportedly increasing for the two countries.

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