Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Malaysia; and if he will make a statement. [138666]

Mr Swire: The United Kingdom's traditionally close relations with Malaysia have been strengthened following a sustained period of high level political engagement, including reciprocal visits by the Prime Minister and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib. Close cultural links are underpinned by the large number of Malaysians studying both in the UK and UK institutions in Malaysia. Our two Governments have agreed to work together to double bilateral trade by 2016 and increase investment, and British companies are keenly interested in the business opportunities Malaysia's strong economic growth provides. In the other direction, a Malaysian consortium is investing £8 billion to re-develop the Battersea Power Station site. Defence ties centre around our longstanding commitment to the Five Powers Defence Arrangements, with the UK deploying aircraft to participate in recent exercises alongside Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.

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