JAKARTA: British Prime Minister David Cameron began a visit to Southeast Asia on Monday, looking to seal $1.2 billion in trade deals and push for greater cooperation in the fight against the Daesh group.

Cameron arrived in Indonesia on the first stop of a four-day trip, accompanied by 30 British business leaders and his minister of state for trade Francis Maude, before he heads to Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Following talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, he said the pair had agreed to step up efforts to combat the “evil threat” posed by Daesh.

Hundreds of young Britons have joined Daesh in Syria and Iraq, sparking fears they could launch attacks on home soil upon their return, while Indonesia fears up to 500 of its citizens have been lured to the Middle East by the militants.

“We’ve agreed to step up our joint efforts both to tackle the terrorist threat and to counter the extremist narrative,” he said in a joint statement with Widodo at the presidential palace, adding IS was a “shared enemy.”

Cameron said Britain would provide support for counter-terrorism efforts in Indonesia, which is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country and has long struggled with extremism.

Measures will include helping to improve security at airports, enhanced cooperation on terrorism investigations and the training of Indonesian police officers in Britain, he said.

Cameron is also set to use a meeting this week with Prime Minister Najib Razak of Muslim-majority Malaysia to discuss the threat posed by Daesh, who have seized vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.