Trade minister says Israel will be a ‘key partner in the future’

The minister responsible for negotiating Britain’s new trading relationships in the post-Brexit world has told a Jewish Care breakfast that Israel will be “a key partner in the future”.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox MP, who called himself “a longstanding friend of the Israeli people,” said the UK was already the “number one destination in Europe for Israeli investment,” with 300 Israeli companies listing here.

This week Fox paid tribute to an event last month celebrating Tel Aviv in London, saying: “I was struck by the many similarities between the two cities, not only in their formidable international reputations for technology, innovation and financial services, but in the vibrancy of the culture that we share.

“These parallels are indicative of the complimentary nature of the Israeli and UK economies. It is a strong foundation from which to enhance our future relationship.”

He added that he was “proud” to have created a UK-Israel Trade Working Group within his department, which he said was “designed to identify and remove barriers to trade between our 2 countries”.

Fox added: “This will not only strengthen our bilateral relationship, but provide a strong foundation for further progress upon our exit from the EU, as well as providing greater prosperity, stability and security in Israel itself.”