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Eleven member states, and one council in London.

ASEAN is collectively equivalent to the fifth-largest economy in the world, with projections indicating that ASEAN will become the fourth-largest economy by 2030. This progress is powered by strong GDP growth, an expanding middle class, rapid adoption of cutting-edge technology, and a population set to reach 800 million by 2045.

A wide group portrait of delegates behind a long table under ASEAN Business Advisory Council banners
UKABC’s Director for ASEAN and Corporate Affairs attended the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Joint Business Council meeting in Manila
01

What ASEAN is

Their own account, on their own ASEAN page. The founding date belongs to ASEAN rather than to the council.

In July 2025, the total combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the ten ASEAN Member States at that time was in excess of £3.8 trillion, making ASEAN, even before Timor-Leste joined in 2026, equivalent to the fifth largest economy in the world.

ukabc.org.uk/market/asean

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in 1967. ASEAN’s founding members agreed on the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 1976. ASEAN now brings together eleven Member States: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The ASEAN Community has three pillars covering Political-Security, Economic, and Socio-Cultural issues.

The UK has Embassies or High Commissions in all eleven ASEAN Member States.

Underpinning this economic growth, ASEAN’s digital economy is on track to exceed $2 trillion by 2030, driven by its youthful, increasingly skilled, and digitally-savvy population and the implementation of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement. As global geopolitical shifts realign supply chains, ASEAN has also emerged as a strategic and neutral hub for global trade.

02

The markets

The eleven member states, in the order the Markets menu lists them, each with the opening line of their own country page. Their Myanmar page publishes no overview, only links to the Department for Business and Trade, so no line is shown against it.

  1. 01Brunei DarussalamAn oil and gas-rich sultanate of approximately 445,000 people, located on the northeast coast of Borneo. As a Commonwealth country, Brunei has close links with the UK.
  2. 02CambodiaOne of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia, with an average of 7% GDP growth in the first two decades of this century. UK-Cambodian bilateral trade is circa £800 million.
  3. 03IndonesiaA group of islands located near Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Australia, with a population of over 270 million and an emerging middle class driving economic growth.
  4. 04Lao PDRLaos shares borders with China, Vietnam and Thailand, and plays a key role in cross-border trade in Southeast Asia, with growth in mining, agriculture and hydropower.
  5. 05MalaysiaDecades of growth and stability have helped make Malaysia an industrialised, relatively open economy. English is the business language and Malaysia is a member of the CPTPP.
  6. 06Myanmar
  7. 07SingaporeA small but wealthy city-state with an open and trade-driven economy, and a leading financial, shipping and trade hub for the Asia Pacific region.
  8. 08ThailandThe second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, with a large, urban, middle-class consumer base. The UK and Thailand set up a Joint Economic and Trade Committee in 2021.
  9. 09The PhilippinesAn archipelago composed of about 7,640 islands and a population of 109 million people, with UK businesses well established in telecoms and financial services.
  10. 10Timor-LesteA young Southeast Asian nation on the eastern half of the island of Timor, with a population of approximately 1.3 million and emerging opportunities in agriculture, energy and infrastructure.
  11. 11VietnamOne of the fastest-growing economies in the world, a market of 100 million consumers with 15 signed free trade agreements, including the UK-Viet Nam agreement in force since January 2021.

A page for each market, on ukabc.org.uk

03

The UK and ASEAN, by date

The partnership as their own ASEAN page records it, from accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation to the first annual Post Ministerial Council.

2012
The UK acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).
November 2019
The UK opened its mission to ASEAN and appointed the first UK Ambassador to ASEAN.
5 August 2021
The UK became an ASEAN Dialogue Partner, the first new Dialogue Partner in 25 years.
September 2021
The UK attended the first ASEAN Economic Ministers-UK Consultation, the first Ministerial meeting since becoming a Dialogue Partner. At this meeting, the ASEAN-UK Joint Ministerial Declaration on Future Economic Cooperation was agreed.
July 2022
The UK hosted the first ASEAN-UK Senior Officials Meeting in London.
4 August 2022
The first ASEAN/UK Plan of Action was agreed, outlining cooperation with ASEAN over the next 5 years across Political and Security, Economic, and Socio-Cultural issues.
September 2022
The UK attended the second ASEAN Economic Minister-UK Consultation.
June 2023
Brunei hosted the second ASEAN-UK Senior Officials Meeting.
July 2023
The UK Foreign Secretary attended the first annual ASEAN-UK Post Ministerial Council in Jakarta.
04

What the council circulates

The library on their publications page, with the author of each named. Most are written by a partner firm, the ASEAN Secretariat or a UK government body and circulated by the council.

Cover of the ASEAN for Business Bulletin, Third Edition 2026ASEAN for Business Bulletin, Third Edition 2026
Cover of the ASEAN for Business Bulletin, Second Edition 2026ASEAN for Business Bulletin, Second Edition 2026
Cover of the ASEAN for Business Bulletin, First Edition 2026ASEAN for Business Bulletin, First Edition 2026
Cover of Powering Regional Connectivity, a look book by the UK Mission to ASEANPowering Regional Connectivity, UK Mission to ASEAN
ASEAN for Business Bulletin
The monthly bulletin of the Enterprise and Stakeholders Engagement Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, circulated by the council. The 2026 editions covered the upgraded ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, the ASEAN Tourism Forum and green investment in ASEAN’s forestry sector.
Unlocking ASEAN’s nuclear potential
A case for regulatory convergence on small modular reactors, by Mott MacDonald. Their argument is that deployment at scale will depend less on the physics than on the regulatory process.
Sustainability Reporting in ASEAN
ACCA’s regional report mapping the sustainability reporting landscape across ASEAN’s member states, country by country, and the region’s readiness to adopt the ISSB standards as a global baseline.
ACCA: Recommendations for ASEAN
Policy recommendations to ASEAN policy-makers, regulators and business leaders, in support of ASEAN’s long-term vision for regional competitiveness and integration.
Powering Regional Connectivity
UK capabilities for ASEAN energy infrastructure. A Look Book published by the UK Mission to ASEAN to support the ASEAN Power Grid.
Investing in ASEAN
Now in its eleventh edition, published by Allurentis Limited with support from the UK-ASEAN Business Council.

The publications library

05

Export support

The council keeps a route to the Department for Business and Trade on its own site: the Export Academy’s Essentials sessions and Masterclasses, the department’s market guides, and its export support team. That page links out to the department rather than duplicating it.

The export support page on ukabc.org.uk

ASEAN has emerged as a strategic and neutral hub for global trade.

The UK-ASEAN Business Council is perfectly positioned to be your partner as you seek to take advantage of this growing ASEAN opportunity.

Become a PartnerContact the council