LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - British foreign minister Dominic
Raab will travel to Thailand on Wednesday to attend a meeting of
10 South East Asian countries, searching for new trading
opportunities and stronger diplomatic ties ahead of Britain's
exit from the European Union.
Raab, appointed last week as part of new Prime Minister
Boris Johnson's pro-Brexit cabinet, will use his first
international trip in his post to attend a meeting of
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers
in Bangkok.
"For too long, our trade focus has been on Europe. We need
to expand our horizons, and raise our game. That means grasping
the enormous global opportunities for the UK," he said in a
statement ahead of the trip.
"This region is already worth 36 billion pounds ($43.80
billion) per year in trade with the UK - and there are
opportunities for us to boost that trade to benefit UK
businesses and consumers."
Under Johnson, Britain is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31
regardless of whether it has a transition deal to preserve
trading arrangments with the bloc. Critics say that would badly
disrupt the flow of goods with the EU - its largest trading
partner.
Advocates of Brexit have long argued that one of the biggest
benefits of leaving the EU will be an ability to strike new
bilateral trade deals rather than relying on EU-level
agreements.
The ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
($1 = 0.8219 pounds)