Britain’s May begins Jordan, Saudia Arabia trip focused on security, trade

British Prime Minister Theresa May lands in Amman for a three-day trip to Jordan and Saudi Arabia focused on security and post-Brexit trade efforts.

In Jordan, May is expected to announce that British military trainers will be sent to help the country’s air force fight the Islamic State group. She will visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and Wednesday for talks focused on trade and investment as Britain begins the process of leaving the European Union.

May said before leaving Britain that it was “clearly in the UK’s security and prosperity interests to support Jordan and Saudi Arabia.”

May will set out a package of measures to boost cooperation between British forces and the Royal Jordanian Air Force, which along with Britain is part of the US-led coalition bombing IS in Iraq and Syria.

“To tackle the threats we face from terrorism and from geopolitical instability, we must meet them at their source,” May said, describing Jordan as “on the frontline of multiple regional crises.”

— AFP