(WN):- It’s been three months since Theresa
May called for Brexit to be the birth of “a truly global Britain” and we’re
starting to see what that actually means. Over recent months, we have seen
Government ministers amassing huge numbers of air miles in a bid to form new
trading relationships and strengthen older ones.
This week Theresa May is making her first
international visits since triggering Article 50 and unfortunately it tells us
a lot about where she sees the UK’s post-Brexit future lying. Today she flies
into Jordan, and tomorrow she’s off to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a visit that
she hopes will “herald a further intensification” in relations between the UK
and the two countries.
The timing is certainly controversial. Last
week marked the second anniversary of the terrible bombardment Saudi forces
have led against Yemen. UK arms have been central to the destruction, with over
£3 billion worth of military equipment having been licensed to the Saudi regime
since the bombardment began.
The impact has been deadly, with over 10,000
having been killed and 17 million people being left food-insecure and in urgent
need of humanitarian assistance. Research by UNICEF shows that the conflict has
created a situation in which a child is dying of preventable causes every 10
minutes.
Despite the horrific backdrop, Whitehall is
working with BAE Systems to sell even more of the same fighter jets that are
currently flying over Yemen. This is not the first controversial state
visit May has made since taking office. Last December she flew out to Bahrain
for the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, in which she used Brexit as a pretext
for a to call to “go even further” in working with the Gulf dictatorships.
Saudi accounts of the meeting were almost
euphoric: There was now to be a “reset” in the fraught U.S.-Saudi relationship
of the last administration, when President Obama was pursuing a deal with Iran
to limit its nuclear activities. The Saudi rulers seemed not to be bothered by
the Trump campaign’s Islamophobic rhetoric and his use of “Islamic terrorism”
(the same might not be said for many ordinary Saudis). In addition, the Saudis
are dangling a substantial financial carrot—promises of major investments in
the U.S., which would be music to the ears of politicians and businesspeople
craving massive infrastructure development.
The JASTA plaintiffs obviously want Trump to
continue to offer his support for the lawsuit, while the Saudis want him to
repeal JASTA (which is beyond the president’s constitutional powers). Do the
benefits of ideological consistencyreiterating a position that has broad
congressional and popular support outweigh the costs of Saudi unhappiness,
including the withdrawal of those financial carrots? On the other hand, do the
benefits of cozying back up with the Saudis come at a serious price in terms of
domestic support.
British Prime Minister Theresa May heads to
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday hoping to tap the oil-rich kingdom's "immense
potential" as she looks to secure post-Brexit investment and trade. Facing
criticism at home and calls to raise rights issues with Saudi leaders, May
insisted she had no problem talking about "hard issues" on foreign
visits.
But, less than a week after Britain
officially started a two-year countdown for quitting the European Union, May
made clear that economic issues were the priority. May began a three-day Middle
East tour on Monday in Amman, where she touted cooperation between British
forces and Jordan's military in the fight against the Islamic State jihadist
group.
Both countries are part of the US-led
coalition that has been carrying out air strikes and supporting local forces
against IS in Syria and Iraq since mid-2014.Official news agency Petra reported
Tuesday that May had departed for Riyadh, where she was to have two days of
talks with senior officials including King Salman and the country's powerful
two crown princes.
In a statement ahead of the visit, May said
she would be looking to use the "immense potential for Saudi investment to
provide a boost to the British economy". Britain is looking to strike new
trade deals as it prepares to leave the EU, with a major focus on longtime
partners like the energy-rich Gulf states.
Qatar, for example, announced plans last
month to invest £5 billion ($6.23 billion/5.8 billion euros) in
Britain within five years. Saudi Arabia is Britain's largest trading partner in
the Middle East, with exports of more than £6.5 billion in British
goods and services to the country in 2015.
Saudi Arabia is also looking at boosting its
foreign investments as part of a long-term plan known as "Vision
2030" to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil revenues. May came under fire ahead the visit, with
opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn demanding she raise concerns about
"the dictatorial Saudi monarchy's shocking human rights record".
He called on Britain to halt arms sales to
Riyadh immediately and to push for a ceasefire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led
coalition intervened two years ago. The
coalition has carried out hundreds of air strikes and sent troops to support
Yemen's internationally recognised government against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi
rebels who have seized control of large parts of the country.
More than 7,700 civilians have been killed
and a further 42,500 wounded since the start of the campaign, according to the
United Nations. Seven million Yemenis are also facing starvation. Rights groups
including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been among
organisations calling for an end to arms sales from Britain and the United States
to Saudi Arabia over the coalition's actions in Yemen.
On Sunday, Britain apologised after an egg
was thrown at Saudi General Ahmed Assiri, the spokesman for the coalition,
during a recent visit to London. An
anti-war activist last week attempted a citizen's arrest of Assiri, before
another threw an egg that hit the spokesman in the back. Asked by British reporters if she would bring
up humanitarian and rights questions in Riyadh, May told Sky News: "We
have no difficulty in raising hard issues with those that we meet, be it in
Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the world."
May
also pointed to social reforms announced in the Vision 2030 programme,
including plans to increase women's participation in the workforce from 22 to
28 percent by 2020. Saudi Arabia has
some of the world's tightest restrictions on women, and is the only country
where they are not allowed to drive.
"I hope also that people see me as a
woman leader, will see what women can achieve and how women can be in
significant positions," May told the BBC. May is also due to meet Sarah
al-Suhaimi, who was appointed as the first female chair of the Saudi stock
exchange earlier this year, and a Saudi princess appointed last year to oversee
women's sports.
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