UK to pursue closer economic ties with Arab world – foreign secretary

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said London will seek closer economic ties with the Arab world following the United Kingdom’s shock decision earlier this year to leave the European Union.

Speaking to a delegation of Arab ambassadors on the sidelines of his Conservative Party conference last week, Johnson said the Middle East is a region of “huge opportunity” for Britain, according to a video of the address released by the London-based Middle East Eye on Thursday.

“We believe, and I certainly believe, after Brexit in particular, and after our decision to have a new position in the world, that we need to be more outward looking than ever before, more engaged than ever before with the Arab world,” Johnson said.

Johnson also acknowledged the importance of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but emphasized to his Arab audience that it was “not the only problem in the region.”

“It is absolutely vital that we do not allow the Middle East, the Arab world in the eyes of the British public to be defined by these problems,” he said.

The eccentric former London mayor, known for his political antics and gaffe-prone style, was named foreign minister to lead the country out of the EU after a June referendum saw the majority of Britons vote to leave the 28-nation bloc.

In his address, Johnson told ambassadors the “huge, huge Arab investment” in London has made an equally “huge difference” to the economic success of the UK.

But now, Johnson said, was the time to “get the ball back over the net.” He hailed British ties to the Arab world as “the fastest growing economic partnership Britain has,” and said the growth in UK exports to the Arab world outstripped growth in such partnerships anywhere else in the world, including the EU.

Johnson went on to quip that Britain sells Rolls Royces to Kuwait, sand to Saudi Arabia, and “British underpants all over the place.”

“That is the kind of partnership that we have, one that is mutually beneficial,” he said.

According to reports, Johnson and ex-British prime minister David Cameron days earlier buried their differences over drinks at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel.

Cameron and Johnson were in Israel to attend the funeral of former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres.

The two Conservative Party politicians, friends and rivals since their young days at Eton and Oxford University, fell out in spectacular fashion when Johnson championed the Brexit campaign against Cameron’s wishes.

After Johnson’s so-called Brexit camp was victorious in the June referendum, Cameron promptly resigned as prime minister. Newly appointed PM Theresa May appointed Johnson to the prestigious post of foreign secretary, while Cameron has since resigned as an MP.