London, April 2 -- The UK and ASEAN have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening practical cooperation and advancing their partnership toward a new stage of development, officials said at a recent senior officials' meeting.

The fifth ASEAN-UK Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) was held on March 30-31 at Wilton Park in the UK. The meeting was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang, Head of ASEAN SOM Vietnam, and Christina Scott, Director General for International Network and Head of UK SOM. Vietnam currently serves as the coordinator for ASEAN-UK relations for the 2024-2027 term.

In her opening remarks, Scott reaffirmed that the UK is a long-term partner strongly committed to ASEAN, supporting the bloc...