asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps have been taken to carry forward the dialogue begun during the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs' tour of the Association of South East Asian Nations countries.

In my reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis) on 11 February, I explained that we were looking for ways of carrying forward our dialogue with the Malaysian Government. One possibility advanced by my right hon. and noble Friend in the course of his talks with Malaysian Ministers was the setting up of some kind of joint commission composed of officials from both Governments with a remit—for example—to anticipate problems and promote cooperation. The Malaysian Government have agreed to think about this suggestion and we look forward to discussing it further with them.