May says Britain committed to free trade with Kenya after Brexit
May also promised closer commercial ties and promoted the longstanding presence of British companies in the country
Akesson’s Sweden Democrats.
Should he change his mind, he risks losing the support of parts of his own party, who ousted his predecessor after she held out an olive branch to the Sweden Democrats.
Furthermore, his Alliance partners in the Centre and Liberal parties want a return to laxer immigration policies and could jump ship if Kristersson gets too cozy with the Sweden Democrats.
Complicating the situation further, the Sweden Democrats have said they will vote down any government which does not give them influence over immigration policy.
Technically, they could side with the centre-left to prevent the Alliance taking power after the vote, but they are seen more likely to support removing Lofven in the event of a virtual tie.
None of the party leaders has given a clear answer about how they would deal with the different scenarios, leaving voters in the dark about what will happen after September 9.
Weeks of horse-trading are likely before a new government is installed and prospects for an effective administration which can deal with key issues such as integration, housing and crime look slim. NAIROBI: Britain is committed to free trade with Kenya after it leaves the European Union, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday on a visit to Nairobi as her government plays up increased trade with non-eu nations as a Brexit selling point.
May was speaking on the third stop of a trip to Africa during which she has said she wants Britain to become the biggest investor on the continent out of the world’s richest nations.
“As Britain prepares to leave the European Union we are committed to a smooth transition that ensures continuity in our trading relationship with Kenya, ensuring Kenya retains its duty free quota free access to the UK market,” May said.
The EU is currently Britain’s biggest trading partner. Sceptics say closer ties and more trade with Africa will do little to offset the economic impact of Brexit.
Total trade with Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, the three nations on her tour this week, amounted to just over £13 billion in 2016, official British figures show, compared with £554 billion of trade with the EU that year.
The prime minister has used her first official visit to the region of more than one billion people to stress that Britain’s relationship with former colonies, including Kenya and other African nations, is increasingly focused on private investment, not on aid.
In Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and most populous nation, May also promised closer commercial ties and promoted the longstanding presence of British companies in the country.
Analysts have said that as Britain confronts the full impact of Brexit, African states will enter discussions from a position of strength, given the many other options they have for trade and military partners, from Russia and China to the Gulf and Turkey.
So far Britain’s record in using aid
None of the party leaders has given a clear answer about how they would deal with the different scenarios, leaving voters in the dark about what will happen after Sept 9
money on private investment in Africa is mixed. The government’s private equity arm, the CDC group, invested $140 million in ARM Cement, a Kenyan firm, two years ago that was put in administration this month.
Britain is Kenya’s largest trading partner and a major market for its exports of cut flowers. The rapidly expanding agriculture sector is Kenya’s biggest foreign exchange earner and a big source of jobs.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, speaking alongside May at a news conference, said he welcomed her assurance that Kenyan duty free exports would continue after Brexit and said Kenya will be pressing for an increase in exports.
British companies are also promoting trade opportunities outside the EU after Brexit.