Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Asian countries ranked in the bottom quartile of the Economic Freedom Rankings by the Fraser institution on liberalising their economies.

As set out in the Integrated Review, the UK is committed to working in partnership to create open societies and open economies, and champion free trade and global economic cooperation.

My ministerial colleagues and I [Minister Adams] engage regularly with our counterparts to further this agenda, including with those countries in Asia ranked in the bottom quartile of the Economic Freedom Rankings. For example, in Vietnam, the Foreign Secretary recently renewed our Strategic Partnership Agreement, which includes cooperation on open trade and investment. In Bangladesh, Minister Jayawardena spoke to his counterpart in February to inaugurate the UK-Bangladesh Trade & Investment Dialogue and discuss trade and investment liberalisation.