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On the eve of the first ever Colombian state visit as an official guest of Her Majesty The Queen. Is Britain now poising itself to give more precedence to the world outside the EU and traditional powers? Does this mean more opportunity for Britain and the wider world?
On Tuesday, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will formally welcome President Santos at the Royal Pavilion on Horse Guards Parade with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary in attendance.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister will host the President at 10 Downing Street for a working lunch, and the President will also attend events at Mansion House, the Natural History Museum and the London School of Economics. The Foreign Secretary will take the President on a private tour of the Cabinet War Rooms. To mark the occasion of the state visit, the London Eye will be lit up in yellow, blue and red – the colours of the Colombian flag – on the evenings of Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd November.
The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, said:
"As we leave the EU, Britain remains a bold and outward-looking nation, and we are forging a new global role and taking advantage of economic and diplomatic opportunities in the wider world, beyond Europe.
Colombia holds huge potential for British investors in areas ranging from health care to transport, defence and energy, and I hope that the state visit will help to open up these opportunities."
Colombia and the UK have $1.22 billion in annual bilateral trade, which to economists on both sides of the Atlantic is only scratching the surface.
Should more effort be placed on advancing preliminary bilateral trade agreements with other nations while the whole UK-EU negotiations are forged out over time? Surely it will give stronger standing to the the UK economy, possibly friendlier UK-EU negotiation and more opportunities for emerging markets and developing economies.
I believe that Columbia will be a good trading partner for Britain. The country is one of the founders of the Pacific Alliance, which Martin Hutchinson is so enthusiastic about.
It's been almost 40 years since I've visited, but Colombia is a great country filled with good people. They seem to be making a resurgence now that most of their insurgency and cartel problems seem to have been fixed. I hope things turn out well for them.
Unfortunately Colombia seems to be the only confirmed state visit in the foreseeable future. The UK should definitely be doing more of this with middle powers and emerging markets outside the Commonwealth.
The way this thread is titled reminds me (in the best way) of the possibly apocryphal British newspaper headline ... 'Fog in Channel - Continent Cut Off'.
brexit is a strike against globalisation , globalisation mainly benefited those with capital , im no socialist but i can fully understand why a plasterer from yorkshire saw little benefit from being in the EU , or a truck driver , i know in ireland , the massive influx of polish and lithuanian immigrants has driven wages for truck drivers through the floor
brexit is an act of protectionism , whether the uk goverment follow through in real terms remains to be seen but i doubt blue collar workers in the north of england want one low wage - high movement of people - worker zone replaced with another
i doubt blue collar workers in the north of england want one low wage - high movement of people - worker zone replaced with another
I doubt a state visit means there's going to be free movement of people with any other zone, although perhaps the US, Canada and Aus (with quotas) where wages are comparable might make more sense.
The point of this is actually giving more importance to emerging economies where British investment can mean decent returns.
The massive trade deficit with the EU is going to get worse after Brexit, and not only with the EU but also with the rest of the world, simply because the UK is going to import the same goods with a currency which is worth less!
BTW, the EU and the rest of the world is not going to buy more to the UK therefore the trade deficit can only get worse and worse and worse.
The Uk after Brexit:
Scotland, NI, Gibraltar leave the UK to make the UK ==> Little England
Economic recession
Calais camp in Kent and Dover
London financial services in Paris and Frankfurt
The pound lower than 1 euro or dollar
Inflation at 7%
UK sovereign credit rating downgraded to junk bond
PS: Ofcourse I am kidding and I don't think it is going to happen but think about it!
I am not even sure the pound is going to go down from now to 2017
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