Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Being in the EU gives the UK greater leverage in negotiations on free trade agreements with Asia, Hugo Swire MP said, speaking at the launch of a new Asia House publication which examines the next decade in Asia.
The Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was a guest speaker at the Asia 2025 launch event held at Asia House in London on Tuesday night [8 March].
In a speech he gave about the immense opportunities that Asia and the West offered each other despite challenges and uncertainties, he also spoke about the importance of Britain remaining within the EU to respond to the economic challenge Asia represented.
He said that the United Kingdom’s membership of the EU amplified its power and influence on the world stage.
“In Asia, it gives us greater leverage in the negotiations on free trade agreements and on the comprehensive investment agreement with China,” he said. “These are tough negotiations, and our negotiating power to secure market opening in important sectors is much greater from within the EU than outside it,” Mr Swire said.
“Looking at the issue from an Asian perspective, it makes no sense at all for us to withdraw from the European Single Market just at the moment when Asia is creating one of its own,” he added.
“I believe the deal which the Prime Minister successfully negotiated with the EU is a landmark agreement which delivers tangible benefits for the UK and gives us the best of both worlds. The deal gives the UK special status within the EU that no arrangement outside the EU could match,” he said.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent deal with Brussels to renegotiate the terms of the UK’s membership of the EU delivered tangible benefits for the UK in four key areas of concern, he said. These were: competitiveness, economic governance, sovereignty and migration. The particular deal Mr Cameron struck on competitiveness was “a tacit recognition by the EU of the need to reform in order to respond to the economic challenge Asia represented,” he said.
“The rise of Asia underlines the case for the UK to stay in the EU and to influence reform from within,” he insisted.
The MP for East Devon cited several more reasons why he felt that the UK should remain a member of the EU. He said the UK had far better chances fighting terrorism or tackling economic uncertainty inside a larger organisation.
“In an inter-connected world, problems and threats in the form of Daesh-inspired terrorism, instability in the South China Sea or the North Korean menace require a unified response. Large multilateral organisations like the EU or NATO, ASEAN or the UN are listened to in a way that no individual country is. That is plain fact,” he said.
“Cooperation at an international level is more important than ever. The EU has powerful tools at its disposal, be they security, diplomatic, economic or humanitarian,” he added.
Pictured, from left, are CEO of Asia House Michael Lawrence, Minister of State at the Foreign Office Hugo Swire MP, Chairman of Prudential Paul Manduca and Chairman of CIMB Group Nazir Razak, all of whom spoke at the launch of ‘Asia 2025’. Image credit: Miles Willis Photography
Mr Swire said that the EU’s members had achieved more together than they could have achieved alone.
He also pointed out that the UK’s membership brought many benefits to the EU, saying that the UK gave EU foreign policy greater credibility thanks to its global perspective.
“We are one of the EU’s two serious military powers. We are the only major nation to have kept our promise to spend two per cent of our national output on defence and 0.7 per cent of our national income on international development. We take the lead on cutting red tape, negotiating FTAs and extending the single market. So our membership of the EU benefits both the UK and the EU.”
He said he was “aware that the EU has its shortcomings and in no doubt that the EU needed to reform to “respond to the changed demands of the 21st century.”
But the Conservative MP said: “I believe that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU.”
He stressed that the UK would never give control over NATO to the EU but that the EU complemented NATO’s military activities with its “important longer-term stabilisation and development arms.”
He also highlighted the many benefits that the European Union had brought historically saying it had brought peace and stability to its member states in the past and to much of the European continent, that it had introduced democracy, the rule of law and market economics to the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and that it acted as a champion for those values globally.
“The opportunities that Asia offers the UK and the West are undeniable, and now is the time to seize them. The best way to do this is cooperation with others. So I for one intend to continue promoting international cooperation, working with ministerial colleagues to reform the EU from within and keeping the EU firmly focused on the opportunities in the world beyond, above all in Asia,” Mr Swire concluded.
The British public will vote on whether they wish Britain to stay in the European Union at a referendum being held on 23 June this year.
Asia 2025 is a is a glossy black book, sponsored by Prudential, that contains a unique collection of 25 informed opinion pieces from 25 prominent voices offering their forecast on the next decade in Asia.
The contributing writers include influential thought leaders in and experts from Asia, international government figures, academics, CEOs and Chairmen from some of the world’s leading multinationals.
The resulting collection of pieces covers topics that include digital Asia, the rise of the Asian multinational, the harmonisation of regulations in the region, energy security, climate change as well as demographic shifts.
More than 100 business leaders, members of the Asian diplomatic community, and British government representatives joined the launch event held at Asia House. They were each given a copy of the book.
Three of the contributing writers Paul Manduca, Chairman of Prudential, Nazir Razak, Chairman of CIMB Group, and Beth McKillop, Deputy Director and Director of Collections at the V&A Museum, also made speeches at the event which was followed by a networking reception. The drinks were sponsored by Diageo.
naomi.canton@asiahouse.co.uk
If you interested to find out more about Asia 2025 please email samantha.deave@asiahouse.co.uk.
To read more about other Asia House publications click here.
To read what CIMB Group Chairman Nazir Razak said in his speech at the launch of Asia 2025 click here.
To read about the launch of Asia 2025 and see what Chairman of Prudential Paul Manduca had to say click here.
To find out about future Business & Policy events taking place at Asia House click here.
