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AMMAN — Exiting the EU will not affect the UK's commitments to Jordan and could create more business opportunities in the future, a top UK official said on Tuesday.
The UK “will deliver on our commitments to Jordan and continue to work closely together in responding to the Syrian crisis by creating jobs, giving an education to all children and making ambitious trade deals a reality”, said Priti Patel, the newly appointed British secretary of state for international development.
Speaking at a press conference after a two-day visit to Jordan, the official's first overseas engagement since her appointment, Patel stressed that the UK would continue to deliver its commitments to Jordan and would be part of the Jordanian-EU deal to facilitate the Kingdom's exports to the European market.
“While the UK has voted to leave the European Union, more than ever before we will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to build security, prosperity and resilience across the world,” she added.
Patel said that historically, the UK had always favoured free trade, adding that the vote to leave the EU gave Britain “the opportunity to lean outwards to new partners around the world… [and to] set up new trade relations and agreements”.
To bolster trade partnerships, the UK government has created an international trade department that will focus on building new trade relationships around the world, she said, noting that EU membership had restricted Britain’s trade with some countries.
“The rules of origin are one component of bilateral and economic and trade relations,” she explained, noting that there was a business taskforce between Jordan and the UK which she hoped would bring better investment opportunities.
During her stay in Jordan, Patel visited the Zaatari Refugee Camp, some 90km northeast of Amman, where she saw UK-funded programmes providing education and healthcare to camp residents, who number 79,225 according to the UNHCR’s latest figures.
The British embassy in Amman said in a statement that the minister also visited Duleil Industrial Park to see firsthand how Jordan could benefit from the recent trade agreement with the EU, which it is hoped will boost the economy and create jobs for Jordanians.
“This visit to Jordan is my first overseas engagement since becoming Britain’s new international development secretary, which underlines the deep partnership that exists between our two countries,” the minister told reporters.
During her visit, the British official also signed a memorandum of understanding with Jordan governing the arrangements of financial support the UK government is willing to present to the Kingdom, added to the humanitarian assistance Britain has already provided to refugees through UN agencies.
Since the start of the Syrian crisis the UK has provided more than half a billion dollars in support to Jordan, the embassy said.