Foreign Secretary crosses the Atlantic to expand post-Brexit opportunities for Global Britain

The Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab will travel to Canada, the United States of America and Mexico this week to ensure the UK seizes the global opportunities of the future. This North America tour follows the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Bangkok last week where he met 20 foreign ministers from the Asia-Pacific region and more widely.

Ahead of the visit, the Foreign Secretary said:

In my first fortnight as Foreign Secretary, I’m travelling East and West to underline that the UK is determined to strengthen our friendships with countries across the world and raise our international horizons.

I’m determined that we fire up our economic relationships with non-European partners. That means working with them now to ensure a smooth transition of our trading arrangements after Brexit and means quickly moving to wide ranging trade deals that boost business, lower prices for consumers and respect our high standards.

I also want to build a stronger alliance to uphold international rule of law and tackle the issues that threaten our security whether that’s Iran’s menacing behaviour or Russia’s destabilising actions in Europe, or the threat from terrorism and climate change.

Last week in Thailand, I met 20 Foreign Ministers from across Asia-Pacific and more widely to make the case for Global Britain. They were consistent in the warmth for Britain and desire to work more closely with us. This week I will cross the Atlantic to some of our oldest allies and a dynamic emerging market.

On his second major visit in as many weeks in office, the Foreign Secretary will visit: Canada - a close foreign policy partner that continues to invest heavily in the UK economy; the US - the UK’s greatest ally and the country we trade with most; and Mexico - a fast growing emerging economy where the UK sees huge potential for intensified cooperation. Collectively the three represent £224.8 billion of annual bilateral UK trade with enormous potential for future expansion.

In Toronto (Tuesday 6 August), Washington (Wednesday 7 August) and Mexico City (Thursday 8 August) the Foreign Secretary will reiterate the UK Government’s commitment to expanding existing collaboration on the global stage, including our joint commitment to the rules-based international order and greater coordination across our shared foreign policy priorities.